Acute Diffuse Glomerulonephritis in Acute Staphylococcal Endocarditis

Acute diffuse glomerulonephritis developed in two patients with acute bacterial endocarditis due to coagulase-positive staphylococci. Light and electron microscopic findings on renal biopsy were indistinguishable from those of acute poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis, although antecedent streptococcal infection was not apparent. The electron microscopic findings and the presence of rheumatoid factor and hypergammaglobulinemia suggest that the glomerulonephritis may have resulted from an immune reaction, presumably consisting of antigen-antibody complex formation related to the staphylococcal infection. The clinical course of the glomerulonephritis was self-limited, and the prognosis appears favorable.