Successful management of acute renal artery thromboembolism by intra-arterial thrombolytic therapy with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator

Acute renal artery thromboembolism (ARAT), a rare event in native kidneys, potentially result in severe renal injury if it is not appropriately managed. The optimal therapy still remains controversial today even though various methods of managements for ARTA were applied in these decades including surgical intervention and medical approach such as thrombolytic therapy. Recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) reveals a better bioavailability and lower incidence of adverse effects and it has been widely used to treat a number of clinical conditions but only very few cases have been reported where rt-PA was used to treat ARAT. We described a case of ARAT, which was successfully treated by the administration of rt-PA via intra-arterial infusion within a period of 60 min without residual renal impairment. It may be a useful choice for ARAT and renal infarction sufferers.