Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

IgA nephropathy presenting with renal failure and pulmonary hemorrhage

  • Brief Report
  • Published:
Pediatric Nephrology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Pulmonary renal syndromes are unusual, but frequently life-threatening manifestations of a distinct group of disorders in the pediatric age group. Although IgA nephropathy is a common cause of hematuria, it is an extremely rare cause of pulmonary renal syndrome, causing high mortality, and has mostly been reported in adult patients. We describe the youngest patient with this presentation reported to date, a 14-year-old male, who presented with end stage renal disease and pulmonary hemorrhage and was found to have IgA nephropathy by renal biopsy and pulmonary capillaritis by open lung biopsy. His lung disease was successfully treated with immunosuppressive medications. Despite this being a rare manifestation of IgA nephropathy, clinicians need to be aware of this presentation as it is potentially fatal, but amenable to aggressive immunosuppression.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

References

  1. NAPRTCS (2008) North American Pediatric Renal Trials and Collaborative Studies—Annual report 2008.

  2. Afessa B, Cowart RG, Koenig SM (1997) Alveolar hemorrhage in IgA nephropathy treated with plasmapheresis. South Med J 90:237–239

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Anantham D, Chan KP, Chuah KL, Vathsala A, Eng P (2007) Pulmonary capillaritis in IgA nephropathy. South Med J 100:605–607

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Fung M, Churchill D, Alexopoulou I, Ingram A (2001) IgA nephropathy and pulmonary hemorrhage in an adult. Am J Nephrol 21:318–322

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Lai FM, Li EK, Suen MW, Lui SF, Li PK, Lai KN (1994) Pulmonary hemorrhage. A fatal manifestation in IgA nephropathy. Arch Pathol Lab Med 118:542–546

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Medcalf JF, Brownjohn AM, Turney JH (1996) Pulmonary haemorrhage in association with IgA nephropathy. Nephrol Dial Transplant 11:1148–1149

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Travis WD, Colby TV, Lombard C, Carpenter HA (1990) A clinicopathologic study of 34 cases of diffuse pulmonary hemorrhage with lung biopsy confirmation. Am J Surg Pathol 14:1112–1125

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Yum MN, Lampton LM, Bloom PM, Edwards JL (1978) Asymptomatic IgA nephropathy associated with pulmonary hemosiderosis. Am J Med 64:1056–1060

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Godfrey S (2004) Pulmonary hemorrhage/hemoptysis in children. Pediatr Pulmonol 37:476–484

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. de Groot K, Schnabel A (2005) Pulmonary-renal syndrome. Internist (Berl) 46:769–781, quiz 782

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Fullmer JJ, Langston C, Dishop MK, Fan LL (2005) Pulmonary capillaritis in children: a review of eight cases with comparison to other alveolar hemorrhage syndromes. J Pediatr 146:376–381

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ewa Elenberg.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Srivaths, P., Dishop, M.K., Elidemir, O. et al. IgA nephropathy presenting with renal failure and pulmonary hemorrhage. Pediatr Nephrol 25, 535–538 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00467-009-1382-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00467-009-1382-8

Keywords

Navigation