Nephrotic Syndrome with Mesangial Proliferative Glomerulonephritis Induced by Multiple Wasp Stings

We report the case of a young male who developed severe nephrotic syndrome within 2-3 weeks after being stung by 3 wasps. A percutaneous kidney biopsy specimen revealed mesangioproliferative glomerulonephritis with occasional subepithelial deposits suggestive of early membranous nephropathy. The patient was treated with oral prednisone 60 mg/day with no significant clinical response after 4 weeks, at which point he was started on oral cyclophosphamide, 100 mg/day, while the prednisone dose was tapered to 20 mg every other day over a 2-week period. Six months after initiation of cyclophosphamide, he still has severe nephrotic syndrome. We also briefly review the literature on Hymenoptera sting associated nephrotic syndrome.