title: N-acetylcysteine as salvage therapy in cisplatin nephrotoxicity.
abstract: N-acetylcysteine (NAC) repletes intracellular stores of reduced glutathione and may be a scavenger of oxygen free radicals. We report a 52-year-old female who developed acute renal insufficiency after administration of one dose of 150 mg of cisplatin for treatment of squamous cell cancer of the esophagus. Her blood urea nitrogen and creatinine rose from 12 and 0.7 mg/dL, respectively, to 24 and 1.8 mg/dL on day 5 after cisplatin. On that day the patient was begun on NAC, starting with a loading dose of 140-mg/kg-body weight followed by 70mg/kg every 4h for 4 days. Two days after starting NAC her renal function began to improve, and although she failed to complete a full course of the drug, by day 10 her serum creatinine had fallen to 0.8 mg/dL. A previous report showed that N-acetylcysteine might reverse cisplatin-induced renal toxicity. Our case supports this hypothesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Nassau University Medical Center, East Meadow, NY 11554, USA.
authors.forename: Sabeeha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nisar
authors.forename: Donald A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Feinfeld
mesh_terms: D000111:Acetylcysteine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D058186:Acute Kidney Injury / Q000139:chemically induced*; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000188:drug therapy; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D016879:Salvage Therapy
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D002945:Cisplatin; D000111:Acetylcysteine