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Case Reports
. 2022 Mar 7;14(3):e22916.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.22916. eCollection 2022 Mar.

A Case of Immunoglobulin A (IgA)-Dominant Infection-Related Glomerulonephritis Treated With Plasmapheresis

Said Al Zein  1 , Ali Shueib  2   3 , Muhannad Alqudsi  2   3
Affiliations
Case Reports

A Case of Immunoglobulin A (IgA)-Dominant Infection-Related Glomerulonephritis Treated With Plasmapheresis

Said Al Zein et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Immunoglobulin A (IgA)-dominant infection-related glomerulonephritis (IRGN) is mostly associated with Staphylococcal or other bacterial infections like Streptococcus and Gram-negative bacilli. Antibiotics are the cornerstone of treatment in these cases. When the bacterial infection can't be recognized or IRGN persists despite treating the underlying infection, controlling the kidney injury becomes cumbersome and lacks a strong evidence-based approach. In this report, we describe a 38-year-old male patient with a history of polysubstance abuse and chronic hepatitis B and hepatitis C infections who presented with acute kidney injury and nephrotic syndrome due to IgA-dominant IRGN without an active concurrent bacterial infection who responded well to plasmapheresis.

Keywords: iga-dominant infection-related glomerulonephritis; plasma exchange; plasmapheresis; postinfectious glomerulonephritis; staphylococcus-associated glomerulonephritis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Endocapillary hypercellularity (light microscopy) showing proliferative glomerulonephritis on hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stain. Numerous neutrophils within glomerular capillaries.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Immunofluorescence microscopy (IF) showing bright mesangial and capillary loop staining for IgA (+1-2) and C3 (+2); stronger lambda (+1) than kappa (trace) staining.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Electron microscopy showing frequent mesangial immune deposits (arrows).
Figure 4
Figure 4. Electron microscopy showing frequent small to medium subendothelial immune deposits (arrows).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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