Eculizumab as a New Treatment for Severe Acute Post-infectious Glomerulonephritis: Two Case Reports

Acute Postinfectious Glomerulonephritis

Postinfectious glomerulonephritis (PIGN) is a leading cause of acute glomerulonephritis in children. The presentation of PIGN can vary from asymptomatic microscopic hematuria incidentally detected on routine urinalysis to nephritic syndrome and a rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis. Treatment involves supportive care with salt and water restriction, and the use of diuretic and/or antihypertensive medication, depending on the severity of fluid retention and the presence of hypertension. PIGN resolves completely and spontaneously in most children, and the long-term outcomes are typically good with preserved renal function and no recurrence.

The rational use of complement inhibitors in kidney diseases

The development of complement inhibitors represented one of the major breakthroughs in clinical nephrology in the last decade. Complement inhibition has dramatically transformed the outcome of one of the most severe kidney diseases, the atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS), a prototypic complement-mediated disorder. The availability of complement inhibitors has also opened new promising perspectives for the management of several other kidney diseases in which complement activation is involved to a variable extent. With the rapidly growing number of complement inhibitors tested in a rapidly increasing number of indications, a rational use of this innovative and expensive new therapeutic class has become crucial. The present review aims to summarize what we know, and what we still ignore, regarding complement activation and therapeutic inhibition in kidney diseases. It also provides some clues and elements of thoughts for a rational approach of complement modulation in kidney diseases.