Symptoms:

Common symptoms of nephritic syndrome are:

• Swelling of the face, eye socket, legs, arms, hands, feet, abdomen, or other areas
• Blood in the urine (urine appears dark, tea colored, or cloudy)
• Decreased urine volume (little or no urine may be produced)

Other symptoms that may occur include:

• Blurred vision
• General aches and pains (joint pain, muscle aches)
• General ill feeling (malaise)
• Headache
• Slow, sluggish, lethargic movement
• Cough containing mucus or pink, frothy material
• Decreased alertness, drowsiness, confusion

Patients may develop symptoms of acute kidney failure or end-stage kidney disease.

Signs and tests:

During an examination, your health care provider may find the following signs:

• High blood pressure
• Signs of fluid overload (when examining the abdomen)
• Enlarged liver
• Abnormal heart and lung sounds
• Enlarged neck veins from increased pressure
• General swelling
• Signs of acute kidney failure

Tests that may be done include:

• BUN
• Creatinine
• Creatinine clearance
• Urinalysis
• Urine appearance and color
• Potassium test
• Protein in the urine

A kidney biopsy will reveal inflammation of the glomeruli, which may indicate the cause.

Tests to determine the cause of acute nephritic syndrome may include:

• ANA titer (lupus)
• ANCA (antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody for vasculitis)
• Anti-glomerular basement membrane antibody
• Blood culture
• Culture of the throat or skin
• Serum complement (C3 and C4)