A Case of “Full-house” Nephropathy in a Nonlupus Patient

Yoo, Ha Yeong; Son, Mikyung; Cho, Myung Hyun; Kwak, Byung Ok; Park, Hye Won; Lim, So Dug; Chung, Sochung; Kim, Kyo sun

doi:2014.18.2.128

Child Kidney Dis > Volume 18(2); 2014 > Article

Case Report

J Korean Soc Pediatr Nephrol 2014;18(2): 128-131. doi: https://doi.org/10.3339/jkspn.2014.18.2.128

A Case of “Full-house” Nephropathy in a Nonlupus Patient

Ha Yeong Yoo¹, Mikyung Son¹, Myung Hyun Cho¹, Byung Ok Kwak¹, Hye Won Park¹, So Dug Lim², Sochung Chung¹, Kyo sun Kim¹

¹Department of Pediatrics, Konkuk University Medical Center, Konkuk University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
²Department of Pathology, Konkuk University Medical Center, Konkuk University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

Corresponding Author: Kyo sun Kim ,Tel: +82-2-2030- 7370, Fax: +82-2-2030- 7748, Email: 19890009@kuh.ac.kr

Received: September 26, 2014; Accepted: October 14, 2014.

ABSTRACT

Histopathologic evidence of “full-house” immune complex deposits is a pathognomonic feature of lupus nephritis. This report presents the case of a 12-year-old boy with persistent microscopic hematuria and proteinuria. He was diagnosed with “full-house” nephropathy based on a renal biopsy. However, there was no other clinical or biological evidence of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Although the potential for isolated “full-house” nephropathy preceding SLE is unclear, such patients should be followed for clinical signs and autoantibodies of SLE. In most cases, microscopic hematuria has a good prognosis, and followup usually requires only regular urinalysis. However, we should be aware of isolated “full-house” nephropathy that remains asymptomatic for a long time, as few patients with no clinical signs and negative serology ultimately develop SLE.

Key words: Lupus nephritis | Immunofluorescence | Systemic lupus erythematosus | Biopsy