(See also Overview of Glomerular Disorders.)
Nephritic syndrome is a manifestation of glomerular inflammation (glomerulonephritis) and occurs at any age. Causes differ by age (see table Glomerular Disorders by Age and Presentation), and mechanisms differ by cause. The syndrome can be
Nephritic syndrome can also be
Causes of Glomerulonephritis
Type |
Examples |
Primary |
|
Idiopathic |
Idiopathic crescentic GN |
Secondary |
|
Bacterial* |
Staphylococcal infections (especially bacterial endocarditis) Visceral abscesses (due to Escherichia coli or Pseudomonas, Proteus, Klebsiella, or Clostridium species) |
Parasitic* |
Malaria (due to Plasmodium falciparum or P. malariae) Schistosomiasis (due to Schistosoma mansoni) |
Viral* |
|
Other infectious and postinfectious causes |
Fungal infections (due to Candida albicans [candidiasis] or Coccidioides immitis [cocciodiomycosis]) |
Connective tissue disorders |
|
Drug-induced disorders |
SLE (due to hydralazine or procainamide) Hemolytic-uremic syndrome (due to quinine, cisplatin, gemcitabine, or mitomycin C) |
Hematologic dyscrasias |
Serum sickness |
Glomerular basement membrane diseases |
|
Hereditary disorders |
|
* Infectious and postinfectious causes. |
|
GN = glomerulonephritis; SLE = systemic lupus erythematosus. |
Acute glomerulonephritis
Postinfectious glomerulonephritis is the prototype of acute glomerulonephritis, but the condition may be caused by other glomerulopathies and by systemic disorders such as connective tissue disorders and hematologic dyscrasias (see table Causes of Glomerulonephritis).
Rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis (RPGN) is an acute glomerulonephritis resulting from the secondary sequelae of inflammatory (crescenteric) glomerulonephritis, of which there are many causes. RPGN is a pathologic diagnosis.