Abstract

We report the case of a 57-year-old man who presented with subacute bacterial endocarditis secondary to Streptococcus mutans complicated by biopsy-proven immune complex-mediated glomerulonephritis (ICGN). Despite initial treatment with antibiotics and a short course of corticosteroids, the kidney function further deteriorated, and plasmapheresis was introduced as third-line therapy to remove circulating immune complexes. Following 7 treatment sessions, the patient recovered kidney function. We discuss the potential merit of plasmapheresis for patients with subacute bacterial endocarditis who develop ICGN.

Author Details

Authors

• Meredith Halpin¹,²
• Olga Kozyreva³,²
• Vanesa Bijol⁴,⁵
• Bertrand L. Jaber¹,²

Departments

• ¹ Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology, St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center,
• ² Department of Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine,
• ³ Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology & Oncology, St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center,
• ⁴ Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and
• ⁵ Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

Address

Bertrand L. Jaber, MD, MS
St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center
736 Cambridge Street, Boston, MA 02135, USA
Email: [email protected]

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