Analysis of renal diseases detected in renal biopsies of adult patients : a single-center experience

Abstract EN

Renal biopsy is crucial while evaluating for the diagnosis of glomerular, vascular, tubulointerstitial, and genetic diseases.

It gives vital information which helps in estimating the disease prognosis, progression, and management.

This is the retrospective analysis of all adult patients aged above 18 years, who underwent percutaneous renal biopsy at The Kidney Center Post Graduate Training Institute, Karachi, over a duration of 18 years, i.e., January 1, 1996, to December 2013.

Renal graft biopsies and those which were inadequate were excluded from analysis.

Of the1962 biopsies performed, we included 1521 biopsies in our assessment.

The mean age of the population was 38 ± 15.26 years (range 18–88 years).

There were 920 (60.5%) males and 601 (39.5%) females.

The most common clinical indication of kidney biopsy was nephrotic syndrome, i.e., 741 (45.7%), followed by chronic kidney disease, 253 (16.6%); acute renal failure, 184; (12.1%) and rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis (GN), 124 (8.2%).

Primary GN was found in the majority of the patients, 984 (64.7%), followed by secondary GN in 249 (16.4%), tubulointerstitial disease in 224 (14.7%), and vascular disease in 64 (4.2%).

In primary GN, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis was the most common histopathological diagnosis in 297 (19.5%) patients, followed by MGN in 224 (14.7%), chronic GN in 98 (6.4%), crescentic GN in 93 (6.1%), minimal change disease in 87 (5.7%), membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis in 58 (3.8%), and postinfection glomerulonephritis in 53 (3.5%) patients.

This study shows that focal segmental glomerulosclerosis is the most common lesion in renal biopsy in the young age group followed by membranous nephropathy.

Diabetic nephropathy and chronic interstitial nephritis were dominant secondary pathological lesions in older age group, whereas lupus nephritis was the most common secondary disease in young age females.