2018 Volume 31 Issue 2 Pages 109-113
“Clinical classification (syndromes) of glomerular diseases” by WHO is useful in renal disease management. It is a classification consisting of five categories: 1) acute nephritic syndrome, 2) rapidly progressive nephritic syndrome, 3) recurrent or persistent hematuria, 4) chronic nephritic syndrome, and 5) nephrotic syndrome. One of the most important things in using this classification is that each category is a disease condition, not a disease name. That is, there is not a disease called “acute nephritic syndrome” and it is essential to recognize it as a disease condition. Notably, “acute nephritic syndrome” should not be confused with “acute nephritis”. Since “glomerulonephritis” is often abbreviated as “nephritis”, “acute nephritis” is frequently used as “acute glomerulonephritis”. Therefore, it often happens that “acute nephritic syndrome” is confused with “acute nephritis”. We should know that “acute nephritic syndrome” is a disease condition defined as “a syndrome characterized by abrupt onset of macroscopic hematuria, proteinuria, hypertension, decreased glomerular filtration, and retention of sodium and water”, and that “acute nephritis” is an abbreviation of a disease name “acute glomerulonephritis”.
