Bile Cast Nephropathy in a Child With Acute Viral Hepatitis A Infection: A Case Report

Acute viral hepatitis A (HAV) induced kidney injury and bile cast nephropathy is rarely reported in children. Bile cast nephropathy after HAV infection is not a devastating condition but when developed, it usually needs renal replacement therapy. Bile cast nephropathy (BCN), traditionally known as cholemic nephrosis, is a unique form of renal injury occurring in patients with hepatic failure resulting from tubular obstruction by bile casts and direct bile acid injury to tubular epithelial cells and its risk increases as serum bilirubin rises above 20 mg/dl. We report the clinical course of a young boy who developed acute HAV infection with severe liver dysfunction and thereafter AKI which lasted for four weeks. Renal biopsy showed deposition of greenish brown pigment casts in tubular lumen suggestive of BCN. He required hemodialysis for a week and later on urine output established with subsequent normalization of renal and hepatic functions at 6 weeks.

Cite this article as: Khatri S, Bajeer IA, Hashmi S, Mubarak M. Bile cast nephropathy in a child with acute viral hepatitis A: A case report. Turk J Nephrol. 2022;31(4):375-377.