Clinical profile of acute glomerulonephritis in children

Abstract

One hundred patients with acute glomerulonephritis (AGN), which comprised 0.5 percent of medical admissions to Institute of Child Health, kabul were reviewed and analysed. Antecedant history of sore throat, 1–3 wk before the onset of disease, was obtained in 57 percent patients. ASLO titre was elevated above 250 Todd units in 52 percent cases. Majority (72%) of patients were between 3–10 yr with only two patients below 3 yr of age. Males were affected twice as frequently as females. More than one sibling in the family was affected by AGN in three families and one patient had an established underlying rheumatic heart disease. Disease was ushered as acute onset of edema (93%), tea-colored urine (56%), hypertension (49%) and fever (41%). Urine abnormalities were detected in 96 percent of patients and azotemia in 85 percent cases. The main complications were congestive heart failure (8%), hypertensive encephalopathy (5%) and acute renal shut down (5%). Out of three deaths in our series, one each was due to pulmonary edema, renal shut down and nosocomial infection.