Interstitial nephritis and autoimmune pancreatitis: a case report

Autoimmune pancreatitis is a rare form of pancreatitis characterized by responsiveness to steroid therapy and an often relapsing disease course. The mainstay of therapy is oral corticotherapy. Associations of interstitial nephritis with various autoimmune disorders have been described. We hereby report the case of a 69-year-old Caucasian man with a 2-year history of autoimmune pancreatitis, who presented with impairment of kidney function, proteinuria, and hypertension. Renal histopathology showed severe diffuse interstitial nephritis. With oral prednisone and ACE inhibitor therapy, complete recovery of kidney function was not achieved and proteinuria persisted. Therefore, mycophenolate mofetil was initiated. After 8 weeks, serum creatinine decreased, and a nearly complete and sustained resolution of proteinuria was seen, while tapering oral steroid doses. With autoreactive T cells playing a major role in the pathogenesis of both diseases, a common etiology of pancreatitis and interstitial nephritis can be assumed, and the beneficial effects of an inhibitor of lymphocyte proliferation, such as mycophenolate mofetil, can be explained. We infer from our case that mycophenolate mofetil can be effective in the control of simultaneous autoimmune pancreatitis and interstitial nephritis.