title: Discrimination between postinfectious IgA-dominant glomerulonephritis and idiopathic IgA nephropathy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A unique form of postinfectious glomerulonephritis (PIGN) with IgA-dominant deposition mimicking IgA nephropathy has been increasingly reported.
  
  
  METHODS
  We compared the clinical and histological features of 12 patients with postinfectious IgA-dominant glomerulonephritis to 134 patients with idiopathic IgA nephropathy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In addition to hypocomplementemia and subepithelial hump-shaped deposits characteristic of PIGN, patients with postinfectious IgA-dominant glomerulonephritis had older age (62.3 +/- 16.9 vs. 37.9 +/- 16.3 years; p < 0.001) and more frequently presented with acute renal failure (83.3% vs. 10.4%; p < 0.001) than patients with idiopathic IgA nephropathy. Moreover, glomerular changes including endocapillary proliferation, neutrophil infiltration, and capillary loops deposits by immunofluorescence were more commonly present in postinfectious IgA-dominant glomerulonephritis group (p < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  PIGN could be characterized by glomerular IgA-dominant deposition resembling idiopathic IgA nephropathy. It is essential to differentiate postinfectious IgA-dominant glomerulonephritis from idiopathic IgA nephropathy because of the different treatments and prognosis of the two diseases.
authors.affiliation: Division of Nephrology, Changhua Christian Medical Center, Changhua, Taiwan, Republic of China. wensnake1100@yahoo.com.tw
authors.forename: Yao-Ko
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Wen
authors.forename: Mei-Ling
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D005922:Glomerulonephritis, IGA / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007678:Kidney Glomerulus / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055815:Young Adult