Author(s): Afonso, Rita Serra ; Calças Marques, Roberto ; Borges, Henrique ; Carias, Eduarda ; Domingos, Ana Teresa ; Cabrita, Ana ; Sampaio, Sandra ; Silva, Ana Paula
Date: 2022
Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/18968
Origin: Sapientia - Universidade do Algarve
Subject(s): Acute kidney injury; Proteinuria; Renal biopsy; SARS-CoV-2
Acute kidney injury is a common complication of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Several pathologic findings are continually being reported, showing a probably multifactorial etiology. The authors present a case of a patient diagnosed with a tip lesion variant of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) in the setting of COVID-19. A 43-year-old African American female with no known renal disease presented to the emergency department with a 6-day history of fatigue, headache, hypoageusia, myalgia, cough, nausea, and vomiting. Laboratory tests confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. During hospitalization, there was a progressive decline in kidney function and evidence of nephrotic-range proteinuria without nephrotic syndrome. Biopsy specimen showed a tip lesion variant of FSGS. Genetic test revealed a homozygous variant of uncertain clinical significance (c.397G>A [p.V133M]) in the epithelial membrane protein 2 (EMP2) gene. To our knowledge, this is the first case report of a tip lesion in a COVID-19 patient with no renal history. More studies are warranted to define susceptible groups and identify the detailed mechanisms of COVID-19-related kidney disease that would allow for specific management of this complication.
