A case of crescentic glomerulonephritis with extensive hematuria resulting in severe anemia

Abstract

A24-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital because of macroscopic hematuria with clotting. She had been well until two months before admission, when she experienced fever, arthralgia and lethargy and entered another hospital. Laboratory tests showed macroscopic hema-turia, anemia and mild renal dysfunction. Two weeks prior to admission, she had experienced an episode of macroscopic hematuria with clotting followed by severe anemia requiring blood transfusion. Because of the deterioration of her renal function, she was transferred to our hospital. Exa-minations to determine the source of bleeding from the urinary tract, including a renal arteriogram, were negative. Tests for c-anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antigen (ANCA) and anti-glomerular basement membrane antibody gave negative results, whereas the test for p-ANCA was positive. Renal biopsy revealed crescentic glomerulonephritis with focal necrosis. Therefore, we diagnosed rapidly progressive glomeru lonephritis (RPGN) due to ANCA-associated renal disease. As a result of methypre-dnisolone pulse treatment followed by oral steroid therapy, macroscopic hematuria disappeared with marked improvement of her renal function. We considered this patient to be a rare case of RPGN with blood loss through glomerular lesions resulting in severe anemia.