Table 2.

Teaching points

• Acute renal cortical necrosis is a rare cause of acute kidney injury.

• Methamphetamines and other related drugs of abuse are emerging as an important cause of non-obstetric acute renal cortical necrosis.

• The most common presentation of acute cortical necrosis is anuric acute kidney injury that often requires initiation of renal replacement therapy.

• Renal biopsy is the gold standard for diagnosis of acute renal cortical necrosis.

• Although acute renal cortical necrosis is partially reversible in 20% to 40% of cases, patients frequently require long-term renal replacement therapy.

• To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case illustrating N-methylamphetamine as a cause of acute renal cortical necrosis, and clinicians should be aware of its associated potential complications.