Acute Glomerulonephritis associated with Echinococcal Multilocularis: A Case Report from Ethiopia and a literature review

Abstract

Background Echinococcosis is a parasitic disease caused by the Echinococcus granulosus complex, E. multilocularis, or E. vogeli, that results in cysts commonly in the liver and lung. Renal involvement is a rare phenomenon. Case Presentation A 21-year-old female patient presented with four days history of progressively decreasing urine output with reddish discoloration, flank pain, and intermittent fever. Following admission, the diagnosis of a liver hydatid cyst was made incidentally with an abdominal ultrasound. She was treated with IV antibiotics for pyelonephritis, Albendazole was given, and liver cysts were surgically removed, after which, she had significant improvement. Conclusion Glomerular disease related to echinococcosis is poorly understood, and the immune complex-related mechanism of glomerular damage is currently the most widely accepted theory explaining this association. Our case report will strengthen the question of a definite association between echinococcus granulosus as a cause of post-infectious glomerulonephritis and incite further studies.