Akute interstitielle Nephritis nach Piperacillin

A 75-year-old woman developed fever, exanthema and nonoliguric renal failure 16 days after the beginning of Piperacillin treatment. Renal biopsy revealed lympho-plasmacellular acute interstitial nephritis (AIN). A lymphocyte-transformation-test showed significant stimulation of patient's lymphocytes by Piperacillin. Corticosteroid-therapy correlated to clinical and renal improvement. Nevertheless the patient died of foudroyant septicemia caused by E. coli. Our report describes the first immunologically documented case of AIN following Piperacillin treatment.