Clinical case description:

We present herein an atypical case of a patient diagnosed with an infected renal cyst.

Relevance:

Although the presence of solitary renal cysts is more common than expected, they rarely become infected, especially when not associated with a cystic disease.

Clinical implications:

Renal cyst diagnosis is mainly made through imaging studies. Infection is rare and normally associated with polycystic kidney disease. Patients do not usually respond well to conventional antibiotic therapy and end up needing drainage and high doses of antibiotics.

Conclusions:

There are few case reports of infected renal cyst and they tend to be associated with an underlying pathology, which is important to establish. Even though patients do not usually have a good initial response to antibiotic therapy, they generally have a favorable outcome, with no complications, after drainage and long-term antibiotic administration.