ANCA-Negative Pauci-Immune Glomerulonephritis Associated with Bartonella Endocarditis

Abstract

Kidney complications can occur due to infective endocarditis, one of which is glomerulonephritis. Most often, an immune complex or complement-mediated glomerulonephritis is seen on kidney biopsy. In a minor subset of cases, pauci-immune glomerulonephritis may be present. Most often, such patients will demonstrate the presence of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) on serologic testing. A growing number of cases of ANCA-associated glomerulonephritis due to Bartonella endocarditis have been reported. This type of endocarditis can present diagnostic difficulties given that these patients are often culture negative. Herein, we report a challenging case of ANCA-negative pauci-immune glomerulonephritis showing florid crescents on biopsy that was associated with Bartonella endocarditis.