Acute necrotizing glomerulonephritis associated with COVID-19 infection: report of two pediatric cases

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is thought to cause kidney injury via a variety of mechanisms. The most common reported kidney injury following COVID-19 infection is acute tubular injury (ATI); however, the procoagulant state induced by the virus may also damage the kidneys. CASE-DIAGNOSIS/TREATMENT: Herein, we report two cases of acute necrotizing glomerulonephritis (GN) with fibrinoid necrosis in the context of COVID-19 infection. The one with more chronic features in the kidney biopsy progressed to permanent kidney failure but the second one had an excellent response to glucocorticoid pulse therapy with subsequent normal kidney function at 2-month follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Both reported cases had an acute presentation of kidney injury with positive nasopharyngeal PCR test for COVID-19. Based on the data review by the researchers, this is the first report of acute necrotizing GN associated with COVID-19 infection.