Transient generalized proximal tubular dysfunction in an infant with a urinary tract infection: the effect of maternal infliximab therapy?

Abstract Objectives Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are common in childhood. Distal tubular dysfunction during a UTI is relatively common, but proximal tubular involvement is a unique feature in humans. Case presentation We present the first case of transient generalized proximal tubular dysfunction (renal Fanconi syndrome) in an infant with an UTI. During pregnancy, his mother was treated for Crohn’s disease with infliximab (last dose at 28 weeks of gestation). He presented at the age of six weeks with a reduced intake, and was found to have amino-aciduria, glucosuria, and urinary loss of potassium, bicarbonate and low-molecular-weight proteins. Within a few weeks after antibiotic treatment for the UTI, no proximal tubular disorder remained and the boy is doing well. Conclusions We hypothesize that the inflammatory response caused by the UTI was more profoundly present due to the maternal infliximab therapy, and thereby included not only the distal but also the proximal tubules.