[Postinfectious glomerulonephritis in adults: a hidden face of an old disease]

The epidemiology of postinfectious GN has changed considerably during recent decades, especially in developed countries. This disease typically has occurred in children and most often following a respiratory tract or skin infection with streptococcus. There is a decline in the prevalence of the disease in childhood, whereas the significant proportion of cases afflicts adults, mainly the elderly. Currently, the affected patients in developed countries are more often elderly, especially those with co-morbidities such as diabetes and alcoholism. The bacteriology of adult postinfectious GN also differs from the typical childhood disease. Staphylococci have become more common than Streptococci in elderly patients. The morphological features are also different, there is predominantly IgA positive staining and the disease is called IgA-dominant postinfectious GN. It is important to be aware of this shifting behavior of postinfectious GN, because adult patients and mainly the elderly are at a higher risk for a poor renal outcome.