Adult systemic oxalosis presenting as acute renal failure.

Introduction Systemic oxalosis is an uncommon condition in which there is a disorder of oxalic acid metabolism producing an accumulation of oxalic acid with subsequent deposition of oxalates in tissues, commonly leading to the development of nephrocalcinosis with an early death from renal failure. The condition is inherited as a recessive disorder and recent studies indicate a failure to convert glyoxylic acid to carbon dioxide and/or a defective transamination of glyoxylate to glycine (Dean, Griffin and Watts, 1966; Hockaday et al., 1964; Zarembski, Hodgkinson and Parsons, 1966). An adult is now reported who presented with acute renal failure and who was subsequently found to have wvidespread deposition of oxalates in many tissues.