THE LESION of non-syphilitic subacute and chronic glomerulonephritis in the newborn is unique in our experience and has not been clearly described in the literature. Because of the rarity of this lesion, the present case is reported. A discussion of syphilitic nephritis is not included.
Case reports and pathological descriptions of glomerulitis in nonsyphilitic new-born infants are scant. Ashby,1 in 1901, described epithelial and fibrous tissue proliferation in the majority of the glomeruli of a 4-week-old infant. The convoluted tubules were dilated by casts, and in some tubules the cells were "swollen and coarsely granular." Ashby felt that the nephritis probably was initiated in utero. Karsner,2 in 1908, reported a case of "acute parenchymatous nephritis" in a new-born who died 45 minutes after birth. The glomerular changes were not striking.
Mitchell,3 in 1930, reviewed the literature pertaining to chronic interstitial nephritis in childhood and included a general discussion