[Problem of the early diagnosis of Goodpasture syndrome]

It is reported on a 16-year-old patient with Goodpasture's syndrome in whom in a period of two years recurrent respiratory infection with haemoptyses appeared. Shortly after admission to hospital he died of respiratory insufficiency. Immunohistologically post mortem on pulmonary and renal tissue could be proved diffuse linear deposits of IgG and C3 on the basement membrane of the renal glomeruli and the alveoli. Histologically prevailed pulmonary haemorrhages and pulmonary haemosiderosis, whereas on the kidneys only a focal segmental mesangioproliferative glomerulonephritis was present. References are given to the possibility of early diagnosis by means of immunohistological examinations on the lungs and/or biopsies of the kidney and the determination of circulating glomerular antibodies of the basement membrane, since despite general knowledge also in adequate anamnesis with relapsing pulmonary haemorrhages at juvenile age it is not always thought of this fact and hopeful courses under early therapy with corticoids, immunosuppressive drugs and perhaps plasmapheresis are described in literature.