Emphysematous pyelonephritis. Apropos of a case

: Emphysematous pyelonephritis is a rare form of pyelonephritis that carries a very poor prognosis. This article reports a review of the literature on this condition and describes the clinical and roentgenographic criteria for diagnosis. Diagnosis rests on the presence of clinical manifestations of pyelonephritis with intrarenal air-filled images on the roentgenograms. Both the author's personal experience and the data from the literature confirm the need for urgent treatment combining antimicrobial agents effective against Escherichia coli, the most common causative agent, and surgery, which usually consists in a nephrectomy.