Crescentic post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis with nephrotic syndrome in the adult: Is aggressive therapy warranted?

The prognosis for adults with acute post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis (PSGN) who present with crescentic glomerulonephritis and nephrotic proteinuria is not known. We report a patient with rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis and nephrotic-range proteinuria following acute pharyngitis, in whom serologic and kidney biopsy findings led to a diagnosis of PSGN. The patient was treated with corticosteroids and anti-hypertensive medications resulting in improvement in renal function and decrease in proteinuria. These results suggest that aggressive treatment of crescentic PSGN with nephrotic syndrome can result in a favorable outcome.