Spontaneous kidney rupture in a patient on chronic hemodialysis

■■ Non-traumatic spontaneous rupture of the kidney in subjects on chronic hemodialysis is a rare event. In most cases it is associated with acquired cystic kidney disease (ACKD) [1] or the presence of kidney cancer. [2] There are few reports on this topic. Until 2009 Goto identified in the Japanese literature only five reports of renal cell carcinoma in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) manifesting with spontaneous rupture. [3] In the general population primary neoplasms of the renal pelvis are uncommon and most are malignant. The majority of these cases consist of transitional cell carcinoma. Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and adenocarcinoma (AC) of the renal pelvis are highly uncommon tumors and constitute less than 1% of upper urinary tract neoplasms. [4] SCC and AC are known to be associated with chronic renal calculi and infection. The incidence of coexisting urinary stone disease varies from 18% in the United States to 100% in Hong Kong. [5,6] The