Fanconi syndrome differential diagnosis
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Vahid Eidkhani, M.D.
Overview
Overview
Fanconi syndrome is characterized by freely losses of water, HCO3-, Na+ and K+, all classes of amino acids, uric acid, LMW nutrients, and glucose in line with evidence of proximal renal tubular acidosis(P-RTA). It has been mentioned that one or two of the above substances can have normal renal excretion and the disease still be called (however incomplete) Fanconi syndrome.
Differentiating “Fanconi syndrome” from other Diseases
Differentiating “Fanconi syndrome” from other Diseases
The differential diagnosis(DDx) of the syndrome is mainly done on the basis of clinical and laboratory findings. Hence the disease must be differentiated with all of the other conditions which partly present its characteristics and clinical findings (and so cannot be called Fanconi syndrome yet) or just have some limited features in common. The most important DDxs are:
- Glomerular defects
- Diuretic use
- Nephrotic syndrome
- Gitelman syndrome
- Bartter’s syndrome
- Proximal RTA
- Distal RTA
- RTA Type IV
The table below describe the characteristics of these DDx in more details:
| Diseases | Clinical manifestations | Para-clinical findings | Additional findings | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Symptoms | Physical examination | |||||||||||||||
| Lab Findings | ||||||||||||||||
| Dehydration | Lethargy | Musculoskeletal pain | Blood Pressure | Edema | Growth | Proteinuria | Aminoaciduria | Serum Phosphate | Serum [Na+] | Serum [K+] | Anion Gap | Serum PH | Urine PH | Urine [Ca2+] | ||
| Fanconi Syndrome | + | + | + | β/N | – | β | + | + | β | β/N | β/N | N | β | 5.5β | β/N | Osteomalacia/Rickets |
| Proximal RTA | – | -/+ | -/+ | N | – | β/N | – | – | N | N | β/N | N | β | 5.5β | N | High fractional HCO3– excretion |
| Distal RTA | – | -/+ | -/+ | N | – | ββ/N | – | – | N | N | β/N | N | β | 5.5β | β | Nephrplithiasis/ |
| RTA Type IV | – | -/+ | -/+ | N | – | N | – | – | N | β β | β β | N | β | 5.5β | β/N | Hyporeninemic Hypoaldosteronism |
| Nephrotic Syndrome | -/+ | + | – | β/N | + | β | + | – | N | β/N | N | ββ/N | N | N | N | Hyperlipidemia |
| Gitelman syndrome | – | + | -/+ | β | – | N | – | – | β | β/N | β | β/N | β | 5.5β | β | Often asymptomatic |
| Bartter’s syndrome | + | -/+ | -/+ | β | – | β | – | – | β | β/N | β | β/N | β | 5.5β | β | Nephrplithiasis/Rickets |
References
References
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