Nephritic Syndrome Flashcards
What is the clinical presentation of nephritic syndrome
- High blood pressure
- mild oedema
- urine dip - blood/protein
What is glomerulonephritis
it is a pathological diagnosis that encompasses a number of conditions that:
- are caused by a pathology in the glomerulus
- present with proteinuria, haematuria or both
- are diagnosed on a renal biopsy
- cause CKD
- can progress to kidney failure (except minimal change disease)
What is rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis (RPGN)
rapid fall in renal function
In glomerulonephritis what is the difference between early and late stages of the disease
Early
- red cell class
- proteinuria
- haematuria
Late
- hypertension
- oedema
- acute renal impairment
What do you see in an urine dip and microscopy in someone with nephritic syndrome
Urine dip = blood and protein - if positive for blood send for a microscopy
- Microscopy = red blood cell casts
- Other - Bence Jones protein, ACR/PCR
what do red cell casts signal
glomerulenephritis - glumerular inflammation
What are other types of casts
Proteinacious material formed in tubule Tamm-Horsfall protein matrix
Other- Hyaline, Granular, White cell casts
What are the 3 common forms of glomerulenephritis
- Autoimmune
- Infections
- malignancies
Describe what in autoimmune can cause glomerulenephritis
- Small vessel vasculitis e.g ANCA associated vasculitis
- SLE
- Anti-GBM disease[Goodpastures]
- IgA nephropathy
- Cryoglobulinaemia
Describe what in infections can cause glomerulenephritis
- Viral- Hepatitis C, Hepatitis B, HIV
- Post-streptococcal
- Subacute bacterial endocarditis
Describe what in malignancies can cause glomerulenephritis
- Lymphoma
- Multiple myeloma
Describe the mechanism of glomerular inflammation
- immunoglobulin mediated
- deposition of antibodies (IgA, anti GBM, immunecomplexes)
- activation of the complement pathway
- production of chemotactic factors
- leading to the release of chemokines
- which leads to recruitment of leukocyes - neutrophils, macrophages, lymphocytes
- further release of chemokines and cytokines
- glomerular inflammation, necrosis and crescent formation
What investigations should you carry out for nephritic syndrome
- Bloods
- Urine
- imaging
- biopsy
What bloods should be used in an investigation for nephritic syndrome
- FBC, U&Es, LFTs, ESR, CRP
- immunoglobulins
- complement (C3 and C4; Low in SLE)
- AutoAbs (anti-nuclear Ab + anti-dsDNA (SLE), anti-GBM, ANCA)
- Culture
- hepatitis serology: HbsAg (HepB antigen), anti-HCV
- cryoglobulins
What is an ANCA ( Anti-Neutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibodies)
This test looks for antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) in your blood. Antibodies are proteins that your immune system makes to fight foreign substances like viruses and bacteria. But ANCAs attack healthy cells known as neutrophils
What are the two forms of ANCA
- cANCA - proteinase 3
- pANCA - myeloperoxidase
When can a false positive ANCA occur
- It can occur with infections (endocarditis)
What are the disease associations with ANCA
– Small vessel vasculitis
• Wegeners[cANCA], Microscopic polyangitis [pANCA]
• Churg- Strauss
– Drug Induced vasculitis
What conditions can a low C3+- C4 with renal disease indicate
- SLE
- MesangioCapillary GN [MCGN] associated with hepatitis C
- Cryoglobulinaemia
- Post streptococcal GN
- Infective endocarditis
- Foreign bodies- e.g.- shunt nephritis Cholesterol emboli
What is the difference between nephrotic or nephritic
- Nephrotic - collection of symptoms due to kidney damage including proteinuria, hypoalbuminaemia, oedema and dyslipidaemia
- Nephritis - syndrome comprising signs of nephritis (e.g. kidney inflammation) including proteinuria and haematuria