Rapidly Progressive Glomerulonephritis (RPGN)
| Overview |
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- Rapidly Progressive Glomerulonephritis (RPGN) is a histopathological morphology of glomerulonephritis which can be caused by a wide variety of diseases. RPGN is characterized by the extremely rapid development of the signs and symptoms traditional nephritic syndrome.
| Morphology |
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- RPGN is histopathologically characterized by the presence of cellular "Crescents" within Bowman's space and is thus sometimes termed "Crescentic Glomerulonephritis". These crescents are composed of a variety of cells but include inflammatory cells
- During the course of disease they may enlarge to completely obliterate the glomerulus.
| Clinical Consequences |
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- RPGN is dominated by a picture of nephritic syndrome (i.e. hematuria, pyuria, secondary hypertension, oliguria, and azotemia). However, nephritic symptoms progress extremely rapidly in RPGN and can quickly result in acute renal failure.
| Etiology and Pathogenesis |
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- As mentioned, RPGN is not a unique etiopathogenic entity and can be caused by a diverse variety of diseases that include the following. These are provided as links and are not subtopics of this page.
- Goodpasture Syndrome
- Henoch-Schonlein Purpura
- Wegener Granulomatosis
- Pauci-immune Glomerulonephritis
- Acute Proliferative Glomerulonephritis
- Microscopic Polyangiitis