Goodpasture's Syndrome: A Case of Delayed Appearance of Autoantibodies and Renal Disease

Goodpasture's syndrome, or anti-glomerular basement membrane (anti-GBM) disease, is a rare pulmonary-renal syndrome that results from autoantibody-mediated destruction of alveolar and glomerular basement membranes. It is defined by the triad of pulmonary hemorrhage (hemoptysis), glomerulonephritis (hematuria), and circulating anti-GBM antibodies. Although kidney disease can occur with or without lung involvement, isolated alveolar hemorrhage as an incipient manifestation of the syndrome is rare. We report the case of a patient with anti-GBM disease who initially presented with seronegative hemoptysis and normal urine. It was not until relapse of his condition that we found acute glomerulonephritis and circulating antibodies. In this report, we briefly review the pathogenesis and clinical manifestations of anti-GBM disease and discuss the relevance of isolated alveolar hemorrhage.