Poststreptococcal nephritis--a rare disease?

Forty-three children presenting with acute nephritis were studied for evidence of preceeding steptococcal infection. They were compared with a group of control children of similar age. Two-thirds of those with nephritis gave a history of a preceeding respiratory infection (compared with one-third of the controls). A significant rise of antistreptolysin O tire occurred in only 16 children with nephritis and within this minority several did not show a fall of serum C3 level. It is probable that only one-third of the children with acute nephritis had poststreptoccoccal glomerulonephritis. Poststreptococcal glomerulo-nephritis is no longer the main cause of childhood acute nephritis in the Leeds area. There may be many different aetiological factors and this diversity calls for more rigorous investigations and a more guarded prognosis.