Question

Difficulty: MediumNephrology

A diverse group of patients presents to the nephrology clinic with various renal abnormalities. Match each patient's clinical presentation with the most likely underlying glomerular pathology.

  • A 55-year-old man with a recent lung mass diagnosis presents with severe edema and an unprovoked deep vein thrombosis. Urinalysis shows 4.8 g/day of proteinuria.Membranous nephropathy
  • A 28-year-old man presents with gross hematuria that began one day after the onset of a viral upper respiratory tract infection. He reports a similar episode last year.IgA nephropathy
  • A 62-year-old woman with chronic untreated hepatitis C presents with palpable purpura, arthralgias, and new-onset hematuria with red blood cell casts.Membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis
  • A 45-year-old man with poorly controlled HIV presents with worsening anasarca. Serum creatinine is 2.1 mg/dL, and urinalysis reveals 6.2 g/day of proteinuria.Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis

Answer

The lung mass with thrombosis matches Membranous nephropathy; the synpharyngitic hematuria matches IgA nephropathy; the Hepatitis C with purpura matches Membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis; and the HIV patient with nephrotic syndrome matches Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis.
Glomerular diseases often present similarly with edema and urinalysis abnormalities. Accurate diagnosis relies heavily on recognizing classic associations: Membranous nephropathy with solid tumors and thrombosis, IgA nephropathy with concurrent respiratory infections, Membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis with Hepatitis C, and Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis with HIV and heroin use.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the presentation of the 55-year-old man with a lung mass.
Identify a nephrotic syndrome (heavy proteinuria, edema) complicated by thrombosis in the setting of a solid malignancy.
Solid tumors and high thrombotic risk (due to loss of antithrombin III) strongly point to membranous nephropathy.
2
Analyze the presentation of the 28-year-old man with episodic hematuria.
Identify recurrent nephritic syndrome occurring concurrently with a viral upper respiratory infection.
Concurrent (synpharyngitic) onset of hematuria is the hallmark of IgA nephropathy.
3
Analyze the presentation of the 62-year-old woman with Hepatitis C.
Identify a nephritic syndrome (RBC casts) combined with systemic signs of cryoglobulinemia (purpura, arthralgias).
Hepatitis C and cryoglobulinemia are classically linked to membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis.
4
Analyze the presentation of the 45-year-old man with HIV.
Identify massive proteinuria and declining renal function in an immunocompromised patient.
HIV-associated nephropathy is a well-known, rapidly progressive variant of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis.

Key Concept

Differentiating glomerular diseases based on unique clinical associations and patient demographics.
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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