Vancomycin-induced acute granulomatous interstitial nephritis: therapeutic options

Drug-induced acute renal failure is a commonly encountered mode of renal injury in the hospitalized patient. Vancomycin is a frequently used antibiotic in patients with Gram-positive bacterial infections. In the present study, we evaluated an index case of a patient who developed severe acute granulomatous interstitial nephritis and provided a review of the reported cases of vancomycin-induced acute renal failure in the literature. A Medline search revealed a total of 11 cases of vancomycin-induced interstitial nephritis. In 2 reported cases, interstitial nephritis has been reported with associated granuloma formation. However, the role of T cells in the formation of interstitial nephritis and in the choice of therapeutic modalities in this scenario has not been evaluated in the past. In the index case, we have evaluated the effect of treatment on the basis of the type of cellular infiltrates and provided a follow-up by carrying out the repeat biopsy.