An Unusual Complication of Foam Sclerotherapy: Acute Kidney Injury

Abstract

Sclerotherapy, in which an irritant solution is administered, is a method used to treat venous failure that results in complete venous destruction due to endothelial reaction and fibrosis. In recent years, foam sclerotherapy, in which a sclerosing agent (aethyl sclerole) and air are mixed until they turn into foam and the resultant mixture is injected into noticeable veins directly and into other veins under ultrasonography in doses depending on the diameters of the varices, has been introduced. The drugs or gases used in foam sclerotherapy can cause local or systemic complications. Foam affects vessel endothelial cells and causes severe spasm in the vessel. It has been reported that endothelin-1 levels are high after foam sclerotherapy compared to the initial levels and that neurological complications vary with the endothelin levels. In this report, we present a case of acute kidney injury due to acute tubular necrosis probably caused by endothelin release following foam sclerotherapy.