Secondary syphilis associated crescentic glomerulonephritis: A case report

• Main Authors: Marcelo Santos Sampaio (Author), Grigoriy Alexander Shekhtman (Author), Mandana Rastegar (Author), Richard Michael Treger (Author), Glenn Tetsu Nagami (Author), Jonathan Eric Zuckerman (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Elsevier, 2021-11-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 2772-736X; 10.1016/j.hpr.2021.300563
• Keywords: Crescentic glomerulonephritis; Pathology; Renal biopsy; Syphilis; Membranous nephropathy; Pathology; RB1-214
• Source: Human Pathology Reports, Vol 26, Iss , Pp 300563- (2021)

Introduction: Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease caused by the bacterium Treponema Pallidum and has a diverse clinical presentation, including nephropathies, the most common of which is membranous nephropathy. Crescentic glomerulonephritis is not typically considered to be a manifestation of Syphilis associated renal disease. Case presentation: Here we describe an unusual case of crescentic glomerulonephritis associated with secondary syphilis resulting in a rapidly progressing glomerulonephritis presentation requiring hemodialysis. The patient was treated with Penicillin G and intravenous solumedrol. The patient's kidney function recovered and several months after presentation the patient was asymptomatic off hemodialysis with a serum creatinine of 1.54 mg/dL. Discussion/conclusion: Secondary syphilis rarely presents with rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis. This report is only the third such case reported to date of a diffuse necrotizing/crescentic glomerulonephritis resulting from a syphilis infection. As syphilis is on the rise, this report highlights an important differential diagnostic consideration for any necrotizing/crescentic glomerulonephritis.