Infection-related glomerulonephritides (IRGN)

Postinfectious glomerulonephritis (GN) has predominantly been described in children and adolescents under poor living conditions and a lack of healthcare following Streptococcus infections. Nowadays, infection-related GN (IRGN) due to bacterial infections occurs in Germany, particularly in older adults, no longer as a sequela of tonsillitis but often in cases of still florid skin and soft tissue infections, prosthesis infections and endocarditis with Staphylococcus aureus. High-risk patients are those with diabetes, high blood pressure, heart diseases, cancer, harmful alcohol abuse, intravenous drug abuse or kidney transplantation and with resistant pathogens. The diagnosis is based on the patient history and examination, laboratory findings, culture results, histological findings, interdisciplinary discussion and exclusion of differential diagnoses. So far no suitable biomarkers exist and histology shows a high variability. Treatment approaches are mostly symptomatic, with antibiotics for persistent infections.