Loin pain as a presenting symptom in idiopathic glomerulonephritis

Loin pain may be a major presenting symptom in patients with glomerulonephritis. Most of these patients show an underlying focal and segmental proliferative glomeruloneyphritis and there may be associated deposits of IgA and Igg in the mesangium. In this group of patients, vascular lesions are often prominent in the absence of hypertension. Episodes of recurrent macroscopic hematuria also occur, but the pain cannot be attributed to colic due to blood clots in the ureter.