Two learners hu1 and hu2 discuss a patient for the second time rekindled by an interesting biopsy report even as the patient became out of sight out of mind
[23/05, 09:42]hu1: this is the renal biopsy report of the male patient in last bed in amc
[23/05, 09:42]hu1: You told he had heart failure 😅
[23/05, 09:45]hu1: Turns out lupus features
[23/05, 09:45]hu1: Male lupus!
[23/05, 09:47]hu2: Did we have a group for him?
It's so easy to foil one's case based reasoning attempts with missing data!
By the way class 4 appearance may suggest Lupus but is not synonymous with it although again this does suggest an immune mediated etiology to his heart failure as well
Will need to review the entire case if it has been stored anywhere
[23/05, 09:48]hu1: We didn't have a group unfortunately
[23/05, 09:48]hu1: I can still try to make it now
[23/05, 09:49]hu1: Data is supposed to be in your and my brain 😅
[23/05, 09:49]hu1: I just thought you may remember him
[23/05, 09:49]hu2: Any prior discussion? Couldn't find it with 33M in the search
[23/05, 09:49]hu2: When was it?
[23/05, 09:50]hu1: When you were there here
[23/05, 09:51]hu1: He was present at the time of ?adem z positive case
[23/05, 09:57]hu2: Last month?
Any discussion we had above?
[23/05, 09:57]hu1: Not in any groups
[23/05, 09:57]hu1: But in the icu
[23/05, 09:57]hu1: This month only
[23/05, 09:58]hu2: Which bed?
[23/05, 09:59]hu2: How many days did we discuss him?
[23/05, 09:59]hu1: In ... bed
[23/05, 09:59]hu1: 3 or 4 days maybe
[23/05, 10:00]hu2: Opposite to the ... bed?
[23/05, 10:00]hu1: I mean in the opposite row yes
[23/05, 10:00]hu2: Abdominal adiposity?
What were his presenting problems?
[23/05, 10:00]hu1: I see the struggle of not storing the data now😅
[23/05, 10:01]hu2: Yes those of us who don't get to interact with the patient everyday and also interact with many other patients online may have this problem
[23/05, 10:01]hu1: Pedal edema, abdominal distension,facial puffiness
[23/05, 10:01]hu1: 24 hr urinary protein was around 2000
[23/05, 10:02]hu1: I'll try to make it now
[23/05, 10:02]hu2: Now I remembered!
His wife and other relatives were proactive and wanted to know from me what was the issue
And I remember our diagnosis was AGN AKI with heart failure as well
[23/05, 10:04]hu1: Yes
[23/05, 10:04]hu1: This is the patient
[23/05, 10:05]hu2: Yes
[23/05, 10:06]hu2: Recall vividly now
[23/05, 10:06]hu1: His symptoms predominantly can't be attributed to the lupus nephritis?
[23/05, 10:11]hu2: Why would it?
[23/05, 10:07]hu2: Check out other causes of diffuse proliferative glomerulonephritis, DPGN which is what it looks like even in the biopsy findings
While Lupus is a common cause of DPGN it's not the only cause
[23/05, 10:10]hu1: Ok
[23/05, 10:11]hu2: Almost all known causes of AGN including PSGN fits this biopsy report 👇
[23/05, 10:14]hu2: While both of us are able to learn these the problem with this dyadic approach is that majority of others will not be able to learn the same and even though we may feel more knowledgeable about DPGN after this in comparison to others who aren't learning this way, as a result of our knowledge being restricted to us alone others will not be able to understand or believe us when we share this insight next time unless we publish it ASAP
[23/05, 17:46]hu1: I'm trying to make a pajr group,not able to contact the pt advocate
[23/05, 17:46]hu2: Yes I need to know how is he currently
Also did he have any documented Hypertension while being admitted with us?
[23/05, 17:47]hu2: They sent the report after 10 days after it was reported?
[23/05, 17:47]hu1: Yes
[23/05, 17:47]hu1: Almost 20 days
[23/05, 17:47]hu1: Result of ana that was also sent
[23/05, 17:49]hu2: Excellent!👏
Thanks for sharing this
It kind of vindicates my stand on DPGN and the fact that wire loop doesn't suggest Lupus automatically
[23/05, 17:54]hu1: ana is non specific
[23/05, 17:56]hu2: All markers for Lupus here are negative
How many ARA criterias of the 11 does this patient satisfy?
[23/05, 17:57]hu2: ANA negative lupus is known (we have reported it ourselves a decade ago) but relatively rare
[23/05, 17:58]hu1: Here’s the summary of *Mr. 33M's ANA and ANCA reports* from 14-May-2026:
*1. ANA - Anti Nuclear Antibody*
- *Result: 0.39 Index Value* → *Negative* [< 1.0 is Negative]
- Method: ELISA
*2. ANA Profile / ENA Profile - Qualitative*
Method: Immunoblot
*All antigens tested were Negative:*
- dsDNA, Nucleosome, Histone, SmD1, PCNA, P0(RPP)
- SS-A/Ro60, SS-A/Ro52, SS-B/La, CENP-B
- Scl-70, U1-snRNP, AMA M2, Jo-1, PM-Scl, Mi-2, Ku, DFS-70
*3. Anti ds-DNA Antibody*
- *Result: 6.14 IU/ml* → *Negative* [< 25 is Negative]
- Method: ELISA
*4. ANCA Tests*
- *p-ANCA (Myeloperoxidase): 12.41 AU/mL* → *Negative* [<20 is Negative]
- *c-ANCA (Serine Proteinase 3): 7.48 AU/mL* → *Negative* [<16 is Negative]
- Method: ELISA for both
*Other*
- *ESR*: 07 mm at 1st hr → *Normal* [<15]
*Key finding*: All ANA, ENA, dsDNA, and ANCA markers are negative/normal in this serology report.
[23/05, 18:28]hu2: What was his range of BP in the charts and what anti hypertensives did he receive?
[23/05, 19:56] Another dyadic conversation between hu3 expert in evaluating renal biopsies and hu2 learner.
hu2 to hu3: [23/05, 18:22]: My question is how common is it to think of other causes of DPGN whenever one sees wire loop glomeruli and not jump straight to the conclusion of Lupus nephritis?
Almost all known causes of AGN including PSGN fits this biopsy report ?👇
[23/05, 19:42]hu3:
Good evening
This case looks like non lupus full house nephropathy.
There are many etiological factors which could be the underlying cause.
Infectious agents are one of the important triggers,for such cases therefore PIGN cannot be ruled out.
Apart from infections, secondary glomerular diseases can also precipitate the above condition.
Since C1q stain intensity is more,C1q nephropathy can be one of the dds.
However this case needs close monitoring as sometimes kidney immune deposits are the first manifestation before the pt develops positive seroconversion for autoimmune diseases such as lupus nephritis.
C3& C4 levels ,were they been done?
[23/05, 19:53]hu2 : Thanks. Yes agree.
His C3 and C4 is attached. Just realised I hadn't shared those.
Another dyadic conversation initiated by learner hu2 with hu4 as both of them had seen a similar patient years ago in the past:
[03/06, 14:45]hu2: Do you remember the diabetic lady with nephrotic syn you evaluated with a renal biopsy along with ... while he was SR and the patient was presented in one of the Thursday clinical meetings?
The thing which stayed with me was:
Wire loop lesions may not mean Lupus all the time and DPGN can be due to other causes.
Can you share any details of the patient if archived?
[03/06, 18:50]hu4: Is this the patient with chylous ascites..? I will check my blog and share.
This is a case report of 47 year old female with chylous ascites where we did her biopsy and got wire loops
Her previous admission
[03/06, 19:01]hu4: She was diabetic for 6-7 yrs
[03/06, 19:20]hu2: Thanks.
Yes we thought about non diabetic kidney disease for her current presentation of nephrotic syndrome perhaps because the presentation was quite stormy and her duration of Diabetes not so long
[03/06, 19:57]hu2: Would you happen to have the PPT you had presented that day during the clinical meeting in the mini auditorium?
[03/06, 21:03]hu2: Would you like to also archive this as images in your blog?
Back to dyadic conversations between two learners hu1 and hu2
[23/05, 21:27]hu1: around 140-160
[23/05, 21:28]hu2: Diastolic?
[23/05, 21:30]hu1: 140/60-150/90,160/90 around this range
[23/05, 21:31]hu1: So it's psgn presenting with as dpgn
[23/05, 21:32]hu2: DPGN is pathology
PSGN is one of the many etiologies
[23/05, 21:32]hu1: Oh
[23/05, 21:32]hu1: Ok
[23/05, 21:33]hu2: Heart failure then?
[23/05, 21:33]hu1: You were convinced he had heart failure
[23/05, 21:35]hu2: Off course I'm still convinced
LVF causing confusion due to it's manifesting symptoms with pulmonary edema is pretty common
[23/05, 21:37]hu2: With his metabolic syn phenotype heart failure was likely however it was perhaps precipitated by whatever immunological abnormality it was that caused immune complex deposition in his glomeruli
[24/05, 10:12]hu1: Possibly
POSTER ABSTRACT FOR some worldly conference 2026
INTRODUCTION:
Full-house nephropathy is characterized by a renal biopsy immunofluorescence pattern demonstrating the simultaneous deposition of all major immunoreactants, including IgG, IgA, IgM, C3, and C1q.
CASE REPORT:
A 33 year old male presented with cough since 6 days,cough without expectoration ,no positional variation,no diurnal variation
B/L pedal edema since 3 days, pitting type,grade-3 extending upto the knee associated with abdominal distension and facial puffiness
With decreased urine output since 3 days
KEY FINDINGS:
B/L pedal edema
Proteinuria
Hypertension
DISCUSSION:
Although the full-house immunofluorescence pattern on renal biopsy is considered a hallmark of lupus nephritis, it is not pathognomonic for SLE. Full-house nephropathy can also be observed in a variety of non-lupus renal diseases, presenting a diagnostic challenge
DIAGNOSTIC DILEMMA:Full house nephropathy without clinical signs of SLE AND ANA negative
References:
Uzzo M, Kronbichler A, Alberici F, Bajema I. Nonlupus full house nephropathy: a systematic review. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2024;19(6):743-754.
Wani AS, Zahir Z, Gupta A, Agrawal V. Clinicopathological pattern of non-lupus full house nephropathy. Indian J Nephrol. 2020;30(5):301-306.
Dias CB, Testagrossa LA, Malheiros DM, Jorge L, Woronik V. Idiopathic non-lupus full house nephropathy compared to lupus nephritis. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2017;28(Abstract Suppl):FR-PO734.