Intestinal protein loss in patients with haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome

In haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) vascular dysfunction has been observed in various organs, but the involvement of the intestine has not yet been reported. This study was performed to evaluate the association of intestinal protein loss in this disease with other clinical parameters reflecting vascular permeability or disease severity.

Twenty patients with HFRS were included in this study. Intestinal protein loss was measured by (99m)Tc-human serum albumin ((99m)Tc-HSA) scintigraphy in the acute stage, and quantitative analysis of protein loss was measured by the faecal clearance of alpha 1-antitrypsin (C(AT)) in the acute and the recovery stages. C(AT) was then compared with clinical parameters reflecting disease activity and vascular permeability.

(99m)Tc-HSA scintigraphy was positive in 13 (65%) patients, and C(AT) in the acute stage was significantly increased as compared with C(AT) in the recovery stage (40.5+/-24.1 vs 9.2+/-4.2 ml/day, P<0.001). C(AT) was associated with serum albumin levels, frequency of hypotensive episodes, severity of acute renal failure, and degree of thrombocytopenia.

Our data suggest that the increased vascular permeability of HFRS is associated with the increased intestinal loss of plasma proteins, which might represent one of the parameters of disease severity in HFRS.