Rapid recovery of renal function after pulse steroid therapy in a human immunodeficiency virus-infected patient with glomerulonephritis

摘要

Renal disease is an important complication of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and its prevalence is increasing. HIV-specific renal lesions are well described and include HIV-associated nephropathy as well as HIV immune complex disease of the kidney and thrombotic microangiopathy. These HIV-associated lesions are seen less commonly in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), but still remain important in those patients with a late diagnosis of HIV, or those patients not on therapy. In the HAART era, toxicities from antiretroviral drugs and complications from non-infectious comorbidities have become more frequent causes of chronic kidney disease in this patient cohort. Concurrent primary kidney diseases are also seen with the increased survival of this patient cohort. Clinically, it is often difficult to distinguish these aetiologies in the absence of a renal biopsy.