Pediatric Acute Lobar Nephronia: A Case Series and Literature Review

Acute lobar nephronia (ALN) is a focal renal infection without liquefaction, historically regarded as rare in the pediatric population, yet recent literature suggests it may be under-diagnosed, which may result in the formation of renal abscess and future renal scarring.

The clinical presentation, investigations, treatment and long-term outcomes of 5 patients diagnosed with ALN was described and literature review was conducted by reviewing publications in PubMed using the keywords "acute lobar nephronia" and "pediatric".

Three patients were males, aged 1 to 11 years. The primary complaint in all cases was fever, accompanied by significantly elevated inflammatory markers. Upon presentation, none of the patients exhibited pyuria on urinalysis, and all had sterile blood and urine cultures. Diagnosis was based on CT scans for three patients and renal sonography for two. Main findings included hyperechogenic renal parenchyma, and hypodense localized parenchyma. Treatment consisted of broad-spectrum intravenous antibiotics, administered for 7 to 12 days and additional 1 week course with amoxicillin-clavulanate, resulting in similar defervescence times across all patients. None of the patients demonstrated recurrence and none had renal pathology upon repeated renal sonography and upon DMSA scintigraphy.

Clinical suspicion for ALN should arise in cases of abdominal pain and markedly increased inflammatory markers. It"s crucial to note that the absence of pyuria and negative culture results should not exclude ALN diagnosis, underscoring the need for a high index of suspicion in the pediatric population.