What causes acute nephritis?

Written by Hu Lin

Nephrology

Updated on January 22, 2025

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The full name of acute nephritis is post-infectious glomerulonephritis, so as the name suggests, acute nephritis is related to infections. The most common cause is acute streptococcal infection. There are also infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Gram-negative bacteria. The main pathogenic mechanism is due to a series of immune responses caused by streptococcal infections, leading to an immune complex-mediated glomerulonephritis. The most common sites of infection are the respiratory tract and skin, with a latent period of one to three weeks.

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Written by Zhou Qi

Nephrology

57sec

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How long does acute nephritis require hospitalization?

Generally speaking, regardless of the disease, the condition is often stable when patients are discharged from the hospital, including the management of acute nephritis. The length of hospital stay for patients with acute nephritis depends on the individual condition of the patient. If the condition of acute nephritis is mild and the patient does not have obvious symptoms, such as mild proteinuria and hematuria, such patients may be hospitalized for about a week. After assessing the condition and predicting gradual improvement, the patient can be discharged. However, if acute nephritis causes some serious complications and the patient's condition is unstable, such as leading to congestive heart failure, some patients may also develop acute renal failure and severe consequences like lung infections. Before these complications are controlled and stabilized, the patient cannot be discharged, and the hospital stay may even exceed one month.

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Written by Li Liu Sheng

Nephrology

1min 3sec

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How long does acute nephritis require bed rest?

Acute nephritis is commonly seen in children. Once acute nephritis occurs, the main clinical manifestations in patients typically include hematuria, which can be visible or microscopic. It is also accompanied by varying degrees of edema, elevated blood pressure, and even transient renal failure. As for how long patients with acute nephritis need to stay in bed, current studies suggest a minimum of 2-3 weeks of bed rest. If the patient’s hematuria disappears, urinary protein decreases, and edema subsides, they can gradually start moving out of bed. If the condition remains stable, activities can shift from indoors to outdoors. However, if visible hematuria reoccurs, or if edema reappears after activity, it is necessary to continue bed rest for another 4-6 weeks. Therefore, students suffering from acute nephritis often need to take a leave of absence from school and should be closely monitored for changes in their condition under a doctor's guidance.

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Written by Li Liu Sheng

Nephrology

1min 26sec

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How to treat acute nephritis?

Acute nephritis is commonly seen in children and is a frequent type of glomerular disease in this group. Typically, one to three weeks prior to the onset, there often is a history of upper respiratory tract infection or skin infection. Subsequently, within one to three weeks, patients may experience gross hematuria and eyelid edema. In severe cases, elevated blood pressure and renal dysfunction may occur. Currently, there are no especially effective treatments for acute nephritis. However, if diagnosed properly and treated timely, the cure rate for acute nephritis is very high. Specifically, during the acute phase of acute nephritis, patients should rest in bed, follow a light diet, and adjust water intake based on urine output. Additionally, if patients with acute nephritis also have a respiratory infection, antibiotics should be administered, generally with penicillin as the first choice. Of course, if patients with acute nephritis have significant edema or markedly elevated blood pressure, it is appropriate to use diuretics and antihypertensive medications to avoid complications like hypertensive encephalopathy and heart failure. If some patients with acute nephritis also develop acute renal failure, timely dialysis treatment should be administered to improve the prognosis of acute nephritis and enhance the effectiveness of treatment.

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Written by Zhou Qi

Nephrology

52sec

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How many days does the fever last in acute nephritis?

Generally speaking, acute nephritis itself does not cause fever symptoms in patients. Acute nephritis can cause visible hematuria and an increase in foamy urine. Some patients may also experience a reduction in urine output, severe edema, kidney failure, and other clinical symptoms. However, fever is not a common symptom caused by acute nephritis itself. If such patients develop a fever, it may be due to lung or gastrointestinal infections caused by acute nephritis, as patients with acute nephritis have lowered immune capabilities and are often prone to bacterial infections in other parts of the body, such as coughing and sputum production. In such cases, the patient might have lung inflammation and would require antibiotic treatment to kill the bacteria. Generally, most patients' conditions can be controlled after 10 to 14 days.

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Written by Li Liu Sheng

Nephrology

1min 1sec

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Acute Nephritis Pathological Characteristics

The pathological features of acute nephritis include enlarged kidneys, and under the light microscope, there is diffuse proliferation of glomeruli, capillary endothelial cells, and mesangial cells. During the acute phase, there can be infiltration of neutrophils and mononuclear cells. In severe cases, constriction or occlusion of the capillary loops occurs, and the renal interstitium has edema and infiltration of inflammatory cells. Under immunofluorescence, there are deposits of IgG and C3 appearing as granular deposits along the glomerular capillary walls and mesangial areas. Under electron microscopy, there are hump-shaped electron-dense deposits beneath the glomerular epithelium. Acute nephritis is commonly seen in children, characterized by a sudden onset and symptoms such as hematuria, increased urinary protein, edema, and elevated blood pressure, even transient renal function decline may occur.