ACUTE GLOMERULONEPHRITIS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE COURSE AND PROGNOSIS

Abstract

Although there is extensive literature on the subject of acute nephritis, some of its practical aspects appear to escape recognition or to be regarded too lightly. If the classic textbook picture of hematuria, hypertension and edema is considered essential for a diagnosis of acute nephritis, then many milder forms will pass unrecognized, and not until years later, when chronic nephritis has set in, will the true significance of the mild early episode become apparent. While the opinion is not unanimous that chronic glomerulonephritis is always a consequence of an acute form, in many cases the chronic form is observed to evolve from an acute attack, either immediately by direct continuity or after a succession of relapses and remissions during which the patient is apparently well. The absence of a history of an acute attack in many cases of chronic nephritis may be explained to some extent by the fact that