[Acute kidney failure caused by hantavirus infection].

A 37-year-old man suddenly fell ill with high fever (up to 39.6 degrees C), headache and lumbar pain. There was marked thrombocytopenia (minimal level of 48,000/microliters), moderate anaemia and a slow rise in serum lipase concentration to maximally 1352 U/l. Marked sinus bradycardia (to as low as 34 beats/min) occurred in the further course of the disease, as well as upper abdominal pain (endoscopically diagnosed as antral gastritis), subileus and splenomegaly. Two haemodialysis treatments were needed because of acute renal failure. An IgG antibody titre of 1:512 and an IgM titre of 1:80 against hantavirus antigen confirmed that this virus was responsible for the haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. This infection, transmitted by wild rodents and frequently observed in Asian countries, has a rising incidence in Central Europe. It should be included in the differential diagnosis of acute renal failure of uncertain cause.