Abstract: TH-PO0088
Entangled Event of AKI: A Case Report of Glyoxylic Acid-Associated AKI Following Hair Straightening Treatment
Session Information
- AKI: Pathogenesis and Disease Mechanisms
November 06, 2025 | Location: Exhibit Hall, Convention Center
Abstract Time: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Category: Acute Kidney Injury
- 102 AKI: Clinical, Outcomes, and Trials
Authors
- Eusebio, Anne Mariel, Trinitas Regional Medical Center, Elizabeth, New Jersey, United States
- Abela, Jake, St John's Episcopal Hospital, Far Rockaway, New York, United States
- Singh, Paramjit, Trinitas Regional Medical Center, Elizabeth, New Jersey, United States
- Kandasamy, Rajaram, Trinitas Regional Medical Center, Elizabeth, New Jersey, United States
Introduction
Glyoxylic acid is a recently rising formaldehyde alternative in hair-straightening products. This paper aims to shed light on its potential systemic toxicity and the increasing occurrence of acute kidney injury (AKI) following hair-straightening treatments, as it remains underrecognized and poorly studied.
Case Description
Here we report a case of a 26-year-old Colombian female without significant previous medical issues who presented to the emergency department with nausea, vomiting, abdominal and back pain following an 11-hour-long hair straightening procedure at home using a glyoxylic-containing hair product from Colombia. On presentation, she was hemodynamically stable, with a remarkable five-fold increase in creatinine from her baseline, which failed to improve with Lactated Ringer’s solution or normal saline. Creatinine improved about four days after initiating 0.45% sodium chloride and sodium bicarbonate. Renal biopsy demonstrated normocellular glomerulus, an area of interstitial inflammation, and edema. One glomerulus showed a small cellular crescent, glomerular basement membranes normal in thickness, contour, and texture. No immune-type electron-dense deposits or endothelial cell tubuloreticular inclusions. Mild mesangial matrix accumulation, podocytes showing 10%-foot process effacement. Proximal tubules showed intact apical brush border with focal enlarged phagolysosomes with amorphous electron-dense contents.
Discussion
Recent reports published in 2023 and 2024 have described similar events, one with a 26-year-old Tunisian woman without prior medical history who presented similarly to our case, had AKI after her hair-straightening treatments containing 10% glyoxylic acid in three consecutive years. In Israel, a multi-center retrospective series has identified 26 patients who also experienced severe AKI following a hair straightening procedure. Young and otherwise healthy individuals with unexplained AKI should raise suspicion for environmental or chemical exposures, such as glyoxylic acid in cosmetic products.