Emphysematous Pyelonephritis

Emphysematous pyelonephritis is a rare complication of urinary tract infection and generally occurs in patients with diabetes mellitus or urinary tract obstruction. We recently treated an 81-year-old diabetic woman with Klebsiella pneumoniae urinary tract infection and septicemia whose abdominal roentgenogram demonstrated a striking left pneumonephrogram as well as intraureteral and perirenal gas. The patient died despite intensive therapeutic efforts. Unfortunately, the prognosis for this severe necrotizing infection process remains unfavorable.