小儿肾脏疾病血,尿内皮素的变化

目的研究小儿肾脏疾病血、尿内皮素（ＰＥＴ、ＵＥＴ）的水平及其相互关系。方法采用同位素放免方法检测了肾病综合征（ＮＳ），肾小球肾炎（ＧＮ），肾功能衰竭（ＲＦ）共７２例患儿血及尿中ＥＴ，血心钠素（ＡＮＰ）水平。结果ＮＳ，ＧＮ，ＲＦ三组的ＰＥＴ及ＵＥＴ值明显高于对照组，尤其ＲＦ组（Ｐ＜００５，Ｐ＜０．０１）。ＡＮＰ值在ＧＮ组和ＲＦ组明显高于对照组（Ｐ＜００１）。８例ＡＲＦ患儿恢复期血ＥＴ水平下降，６例ＣＲＦ患儿虽经治疗，但血ＥＴ水平不降或上升。结论ＥＴ在小儿肾脏疾病发病机理及病情进展中可能起重要作用，其值高低与病情严重程度及预后有关。     

Glomerular diseases in the elderly in India

Three hundred fifteen (315) elderly (> or = 60 years) patients with clinical renal diseases were evaluated for the evidence of glomerular diseases between November 1998 to June 2002. Glomerular diseases (GN) were observed in 20.6% (65/315) of the elderly patients. The age of the patients (male 56; female 9) ranged between 60-90 (mean 64.17 +/- 3.83) years. The clinical presentation of GN included: nephrotic syndrome 40 (61.5%), acute nephritic syndrome 19 (29.2%), rapidly progressive GN 4 (6.15%) and asymptomatic urinary abnormality 2 (3.0%). Overall, primary and secondary glomerular disease were seen in 47 (72.3%) and 18 (27.6%) elderly patients respectively. Idiopathic membranous nephropathy was the most common GN responsible for nephrotic syndrome in 11 (27.5%) of elderly patients. Diabetic Nephropathy related to type 2 diabetes mellitus was the second common cause 9 (22.5%) of nephrotic syndrome. Amyloidosis was noted in 6 (15%) patients. Nephrotic syndrome was related to leprosy in one patient. Amyloidosis occurred in association with multiple myeloma in 5 and carcinoma colon in 1 patient. Thus, primary and secondary GN were responsible for nephrotic syndrome in 60% and 40% of cases respectively. Endocapillary proliferative GN of post infectious etiology was the most prevalent (82.6%) form of acute GN in our elderly patients. Hypertension occurred in 78.2% of cases and edema in 69.5%. Pulmonary congestion (52.2%) and ARF (73.9%) were the dominant presenting feature of acute GN and 39% of patients required dialytic support. Glomerular crescents were seen in 4 (17.4%) patients with acute glomerulonephritis. Pauci-immune crescentic GN which is the commonest type of acute GN in the elderly in western countries was not observed in this study. Renal biopsy revealed mesangiocapillary GN (1) and mesangioproliferative GN (1) in two patients with asymptomatic urinary abnormalities. Thus, overall spectrum of glomerular disease in the Indian elderly population is similar to that of developed countries except in two ways: (1) post infectious endocapillary proliferative-GN was the commonest type of acute GN (2) rarity or absence of pauci-immune crescentic glomerulonephritis.     

Spectrum of renal failure in elderly patients

This prospective study was undertaken to study the spectrum of renal failure and the outcome in elderly patients. Patients included in the study group were elderly (age > 60 years) who either attended outpatient renal clinic and or were hospitalized. Renal failure was classified as acute renal failure (ARF), rapidly progressive renal failure (RPRF) and chronic renal failure (CRF). A total of 4255 elderly patients were seen, of these 236 (5.5%) had renal failure. Mean age was 65.1 ± 4.2 years (60–86 years). CRF was the commonest, seen in 137 (58.1%) followed by ARF 69 (29.2%) and RPRF in 30 (12.7%) patients. Diabetic nephropathy was the commonest cause of CRF, seen in 58.4% followed by chronic interstitial nephritis in 9.5% and chronic glomerulonephritis in 8.7% of patients. Of 137 patients 53 (38.7%) presented in end stage renal disease (ESRD). Of these 41 (77.3%) were initiated on maintenance hemodialysis and 12 (22.6%) on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis. Only 15 patients were on dialytic support at the end of 1 year. Sepsis contributed to ARF in 75.4% of cases. Forty of 69 patients (57.9%) needed dialytic support. Forty (57.9%) were critically ill, defined as presence of two or more organ system failures (excluding renal failure). Forty two patients (60.9%) died patients. Acute interstitial nephritis (AIN) was the commonest cause of RPRF seen in 10 (33.3%) patients followed by vasculitis in 7 (23.3%). Myeloma cast nephropathy contributed towards RPRF in 20% of patients. Of 30 patients, 10 (33.3%) reached ESRD at end of 3 months of follow up, 4 (13.3%) died due to sepsis. Only 2 showed complete recovery while 14 (46.6%) had partial improvement. AIN patients had a relatively better outcome.     

Spectrum of glomerulonephritides in adults with nephrotic syndrome in Pakistan

Background  There is currently little information in literature about the pattern of glomerulonephritides (GN) in adults with nephrotic syndrome in this part of the world, particularly that involving the use of immunofluorescence (IMF) and electron microscopy (EM). A few studies reported are based on light microscopic study alone and hence do not reflect the true pattern of GN underlying nephrotic syndrome. We carried out this study in the Department of Histopathology, Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT), Karachi, Pakistan to determine, for the first time, the true pattern of GN in adult nephrotic patients from Pakistan. SIUT is a tertiary care center for renal and urologic disease in Pakistan. The Histopathology Laboratory of SIUT is equipped with all the modalities, including EM, required for precise diagnosis of glomerular disease. Methods  This is a retrospective clinicopathologic study involving retrieval of clinical and pathological data from a review of original renal biopsy reports of adult patients with nephrotic syndrome who presented at the adult nephrology clinic of SIUT from July 1996 till July 2006. Two cores of renal tissue were routinely obtained. One core was fixed in 10% buffered formalin and processed for light microscopy; the other core was divided into two halves, for EM and the IMF study. Results  A total of 316 adult patients were included. Of these, 201 (63.6%) were male and 115 (36.4%) were female. Mean age was 28.4 ± 10.51 years with a range of 16–78 years. The spectrum of pathological lesions in the adult nephrotic population was wide and comprised focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) (39.87%), followed by membranous GN (MGN) (26.58%), minimal change disease (MCD) (14.82%), mesangiocapillary GN (4.3%), mesangioproliferative GN (4.11%), post-infectious GN (2.84%), IgA nephropathy (2.53%), and other rare lesions. Conclusions  Results from this study indicate that FSGS is the single most common cause of nephrotic syndrome in adult nephrotic patients, followed by MGN, and MCD. Our data are similar to those reported in recent series from the US. The study defines the pattern of glomerular disease in adult nephrotic patients for the first time in this region, because it is based on light microscopy, serology, IMF, and EM findings. Disclosure: No financial interest of any of the authors is involved. The authors declare that the results of this paper have not been published previously in whole or in part, except in abstract form.     

Predictors of mortality in elderly patients with acute renal failure in a developing country

This prospective study was undertaken to systematically analyze the predictors of mortality in the elderly in a developing country. All elderly patients with ARF hospitalized at this tertiary care centre over 1 year were studied. Various predictors analyzed were hospital-acquired ARF, causative factors of ARF, preexisting hypertension and diabetes mellitus, severity of renal failure (initial and peak serum creatinine, need for dialysis), and complications of ARF: infection during the course of illness; serum albumin levels and critical illness defined as presence of two or more organ system failures excluding renal failure. Of 33,301 patients admitted, 4,255 (12.7%) were elderly. Of these 69 (1.6%) had ARF. On analysis of the whole group, both young and elderly, age >60 years had an independent predictor of mortality (odds ratio 5.6, P = 0.001). Forty-two of the 69 (60.9%) elderly ARF patients died. The mortality was significantly increased in those elderly with hospital-acquired ARF (79.2%, P = 0.027), those with sepsis as a cause of ARF (71.2%, P = 0.004), those who required dialysis (72.5%, P = 0.022), those developing an infection during the course of ARF (87.9%, P = 0.000) and in those with a critical illness (90.0%, P = 0.00). On logistic regression analysis of those variables that were significant on univariate analysis, only critical illness (odds ratio 9.97) and infection during course (odds ratio 9.72) were the independent predictors of mortality. To conclude, ARF complicates only 1.6% of hospitalized elderly patients but is associated with a high mortality rate of 61%. Infection during the course of illness and critical illness were the independent predictors of mortality.     

Conservative management of renal masses in the elderly: our experience

Objectives To analyse a group of patients with clinically and radiologically detected renal neoplasms who were conservatively treated for various reasons. The patients were followed-up radiologically and intervened only if symptomatic. The natural progression of these masses and also a brief review of the literature is done. Methods The series was collected retrospectively from the case-notes of patients coded for renal neoplasms. Of the 13 patients followed up conservatively, eight were deferred surgery in view of their age (mean age—83.25 years), one patient had a single kidney, two were unwilling for surgery and two had severe co-morbidities which made them unfit for surgery. Results The mean age at diagnosis was 80.4 years (median—82; range 66–88). Seven females and six males were followed up for a mean and median follow-up of 38.38 and 34 months respectively (range—19 to 105 months). Six patients died during follow-up (mean-41.57 months). The average longest dimension at diagnosis and when last reviewed were 5.01 cm and 5.57 cm. However, only one of these died due to metastasis which developed during follow-up and two had to be angio-embolised for hematuria. The average rate of growth along the longitudinal dimension was 0.17 cm/year while the average change in volume was 11.97 cc/year. Conclusions Malignant renal neoplasms grow at a relatively slow rate. Without tumour growth the risk of metastasis appears limited. Thus expectant management can be considered as an alternative for a selected group of patients who are either unwilling or unfit or high risk for surgery.     

Glomerulopathy in Kuwait: The Spectrum over the Past 7 Years

There are few studies that examine, prospectively, the epidemiological profile of glomerulopathy (GP) and its clinicopathological correlation. All patients referred to Al-Amiri renal center in Kuwait from 01 1st, 1995 to 12 31st, 2001 were screened for GP. Detailed clinical data were collected and serological markers were done. Renal biopsy was performed whenever indicated. During those 7 years, a total of 584 patients were diagnosed, on histological basis, to have GP, 315 of whom were Kuwaiti nationals. During the same period of the study, 26 patients presented with bilateral small kidneys, history of proteinuria >2 g/day and lacked systemic manifestations of autoimmune disease. Furthermore, 164 patients with clinical manifestations of diabetic glomerulosclerosis were not subjected to kidney biopsy. Hence, the calculated annual incidence rate of GP in Kuwaiti nationals was 34.5 per 100,000 population (PTP). The calculated rate of diabetic glomerulosclerosis was 13.4 PTP and that of non-diabetic 21.1 PTP. The calculated incidence rates of GP increased with age and were twice as high in males compared to females. Vasculitis was more common in elderly males while SLE nephritis was a disease of adults, 88.7% of whom were females. In the subgroup of primary GP, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis was the most common histological lesion accounting for 18.0% of the total biopsies in Kuwaiti patients, yet only 36.8% of those who fulfilled the criteria of primary type. Minimal change disease was the second primary GP (13.0%), followed by immunoglobulin A deposition disease (7.9%) and membranous glomerulonephritis (5%). Autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and vasculitis were common. Interestingly, only 44 of 72 (61.1%) of patients with SLE and 11 of the 62 (17.7%) of patients with vasculitis presented with rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis. On the other hand, 10 of 58 (17.2%) patients with nephroangiosclerosis presented with renal failure and protein excretion >2 g/day simulating primary GP. Furthermore, only 21 of 40 (52.5%) patients with IgA nephropathy presented with “benign disease”. Prospective studies are essential to ascertain the actual incidence and etiology of GP. The loose clinicopathological correlation in GP dictates an aggressive diagnostic approach in its study and management.     

Childhood renal disorders in Nigeria

The common childhood renal disorders in Nigeria are post-infectious acute glomerulonephritis (PIAGN), nephrotic syndrome, hypertension, congenital anomalies and urinary tract infection. Children with PIAGN often present with hypertension, circulatory overload and hypoalbuminaemia. Nephrotic syndrome is characterized by a paucity of minimal change and a poor prognosis. Posterior urethral valves and hydronephrosis are the most frequent congenital anomalies. Children with congenital anomalies present late with advanced disease. The commonest malignancy is nephroblastoma, but Burkitt's lymphoma of the kidney also occurs. Both acute and chronic renal failure present depressing and distressing clinical problems, with an aggressive course and a high morbidity and mortality. Poor soclo-economy has adverse effects on the presentation, management and follow-up of Nigerian children with renal disorders.     

The combination of lovastatin and enalapril in a model of progressive renal disease

Puromycin-induced nephrotic syndrome is an animal model of progressive renal disease. Both angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors and lipid-lowering agents have been used to preserve renal structure and function in this model, although neither completely prevents progression. We tested the hypothesis that the combination of the two agents would be more protective than either alone. Rats were divided into five groups; all were uninephrectomized. Four groups were given puromycin at a dose of 10 mg/100 g body weight (BW) with additional doses of 4 mg/100 g BW given intraperitoneally at 4, 5, and 6 weeks thereafter. One group was given enalapril (EN) 50 mg/l dissolved in the drinking water; the second received lovastatin (L) 15 mg/kg given daily by gavage; the third received both agents; the fourth was left untreated, and the final group received no puromycin and served as the control group. Eight weeks after the initial dose of puromycin, glomerular filtration rate (GFR), as inulin clearance, and protein excretion were determined and blood was collected for cholesterol and triglycerides. Blood pressure was not different between any of the groups. At the end of the study period, serum cholesterol [mean ±SD, 252±185 mg/dl (L), 135±101 mg/dl (L+EN)] and triglycerides (239±200, 148±158 mg/dl) were significantly lower (P<0.001) in the lovastatintreated groups than in the untreated puromycin group (535±255 mg/dl and 579±561 mg/dl, cholesterol and triglyceride, respectively). Likewise protein excretion was significantly lower (P<0.001) in these groups also [507±336 (L), 253±331 (L+EN) vs. 745±381 (puromycin) mg/24 h]. Renal function was also preserved with a significantly better GFR per gram kidney weight in the lovastatin-treated groups [0.56±0.33 (L), 0.54±0.19 (L+EN) vs. 0.17±0.11 ml/min per gram]. Glomerulosclerosis, as measured by a sclerotic index, was also significantly less in the lovastatin plus enalapril-trated group (0.29±0.35) compared with the untreated puromycin group (2.29±0.54). Although enalapril had little effect by itself, the combination of enalapril and lovastatin appeared to significantly improve the decrease in serum cholesterol, triglyceride, and protein excretion. Thus treatment with lovastatin alone, and its subsequent lowering of serum cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations, improved renal structure and function in this model of puromycin nephrosis. The combination of lovastatin and enalapril resulted in the least histological damage, the least protein excretion, and preservation of GFR.     

广西老年肾活检患者临床与病理分析

目的分析广西老年肾活检患者常见的临床和病理类型。 方法本研究纳入了2012年8月至2015年8月在广西医科大学第一附属医院进行肾活检的373例老年患者(年龄≥60岁),收集患者的性别、年龄、民族、临床诊断、肾脏病理诊断等资料,应用SPSS13.0软件回顾性分析了老年肾活检患者的疾病谱分布特点,采用频数和百分比对分类变量进行统计描述。 结果老年肾活检患者最常见的临床综合征是肾病综合征(NS,50.1%),其次是急性肾损伤(AKI,28.7%)和慢性肾炎综合征(15.5%)。在老年肾活检患者中,原发性肾小球疾病占67.8%,继发性肾小球疾病占26.8%。在原发性肾小球疾病中,最常见的病理类型是特发性膜性肾病(IMN,71.9%),其次是微小病变(MCD,9.9%)和局灶节段肾小球硬化症(FSGS,7.9%)。在继发性肾小球疾病中,最常见的是抗中性粒细胞浆抗体(ANCA)相关性血管炎(AAV,31.0%),其次是狼疮肾炎(20.0%)和糖尿病肾病(12%)。老年人NS最常见的病理类型是IMN(75.4%),其次是MCD和FSGS,各占5.3%。老年AKI患者肾活检最常见的病理类型是IMN(26.2%),其次为AAV(24.3%) 。 结论NS是广西老年肾活检患者最常见的临床综合征,IMN是老年人NS和原发性肾小球疾病最常见的病理类型;AAV是继发性肾小球疾病最常见的原因。IMN和AAV分别为老年AKI患者肾活检常见的原发性与继发性病理类型,即该人群发生AKI的主要原因为IMN及AAV。     

Malaria-induced renal damage: facts and myths

Malaria infections repeatedly have been reported to induce nephrotic syndrome and acute renal failure. Questions have been raised whether the association of a nephrotic syndrome with quartan malaria was only coincidental, and whether the acute renal failure was a specific or unspecific consequence of Plasmodium falciparum infection. This review attempts to answer questions about “chronic quartan malaria nephropathy” and “acute falciparum malaria nephropathy”. The literature review was performed on all publications on kidney involvement in human and experimental malarial infections accessible in PubMed or available at the library of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The association of a nephrotic syndrome with quartan malaria was mostly described before 1975 in children and rarely in adult patients living in areas endemic for Plasmodium malariae. The pooled data on malaria-induced acute renal failure included children and adults acquiring falciparum malaria in endemic areas either as natives or as travellers from non-tropical countries. Non-immunes (not living in endemic areas) had a higher risk of developing acute renal failure than semi-immunes (living in endemic areas). Children with cerebral malaria had a higher rate and more severe course of acute renal failure than children with mild malaria. Today, there is no evidence of a dominant role of steroid-resistant and chronic “malarial glomerulopathies” in children with a nephrotic syndrome in Africa. Acute renal failure was a frequent and serious complication of falciparum malaria in non-immune adults. However, recently it has been reported more often in semi-immune African children with associated morbidity and mortality.     

Childhood chronic kidney disease in a developing country

We have retrospectively reviewed the records of children aged >1 month to 16 years who had been referred to the Department of Pediatrics of Prince of Songkla University's Faculty of Medicine, a tertiary referral center in Thailand, between 1982 and 2005 and subsequently diagnosed with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Our aim was to evaluate the prevalence and etiology of CKD in southern Thailand. There were 101 cases of CKD, with one case each diagnosed in 1988, 1989 and 1993, respectively, and 98 cases diagnosed between 1994 and 2005. These latter cases were divided into two 6-year periods: an early period (1994-1999), with 32 cases, and a later period (2000-2005), with 66 cases. The majority of this pediatric population with CKD were male (62/101, 61.4%). The etiologies of CKD were 35 cases of chronic glomerulonephritis (CGN) (34.7%), 29 of genitourinary tract (GU) anomalies (28.7%), nine of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) (8.9%), four malignancies (4.0%), four miscellaneous (4.0%) and 19 of unknown causes (18.8%). The patients were divided into age groups of <2 years (20 CKD patients), 2-6 years (15), >6-10 years (22), >10-13 years (20) and >13 years (24). The etiologies of CKD were significantly different in each age group, with GU anomalies and glomerulonephritis being the major causes of CKD in children aged 6 years (40/65, 61.5%), respectively. In conclusion, the incidence of CKD in our university hospital situation was not rare, with the prevalence doubling during the past 6 years, and the etiologies varying by age group.     

Outcome of renal transplantation from deceased donors: experience from developing country

Background: In India, there are a large number of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients waiting for renal transplantation (RT). Organ retrieval from brain dead deceased donor (DD) is getting increased attention as the waiting list for organ recipients far exceeds the organ donor pool. In our country, despite a large population, the number of brain dead donors undergoing organ donation is very less. DDRT is the possible solution to bridge the disparity between organ supply and demand. In India, the potential for DDRT is huge due to the high number of fatal road traffic accidents and this pool is yet to be tapped. Patients and methods: We report DDRT outcome in 294 patients (age: 36.5?±?14.1 years; male:female, 200:94) between 2005 and 2012. All patients received single-dose rabbit-anti-thymocyte globulin for induction and steroids, calcineurin inhibitor, and mycophenolate mofetil/azathioprine for maintenance immunosuppression. Results: Our retrospective study in 294 DDRT shows a fairly successful outcome. Over a mean follow-up of 3.93 years, patient and graft survival rates were 81.7% and 92.6%, respectively, with a median serum creatinine of 1.5?mg/dL. 20.7% had biopsy-proven acute rejection. Conclusion: Given the widespread organ shortage, DDRT has a potential to expand the donor pool and shorten the waiting list for RT, encouraging the use of this approach even in low-income countries. Aggressive donor management, increasing public awareness about the concept of organ donation, good communication between clinician and the family members, and a well-trained team of transplant coordinators can help in improving the number of organ donations.     

Acute renal failure in the elderly: particular characteristics

Elderly individuals comprise the faster growing patient population group and acute renal failure (ARF) is quite common among them, although exact numbers are not known. We reviewed the literature with regards to the characteristics of ARF in elderly patients and describe some useful guidelines. The ageing kidney is characterized by many structural and functional changes, which are mainly due to various chronic disorders, such as hypertension, diabetes and atherosclerosis, which are highly prevalent in these patients. A number of structural and functional changes characteristic of the ageing kidney make elderly people especially prone to renal damage. ARF in the elderly is frequently of multifactorial origin and often with an atypical presentation, like the “intermediate syndrome”, which combines characteristics of pre-renal azotemia and acute tubular necrosis. Physical examination and laboratory blood and urine indices may sometimes be misleading occasionally leading to misdiagnosis. Prophylaxis remains the preferred approach to therapy: one should avoid nephrotoxic drugs and poly-pharmacy, adjust drug doses and achieve adequate hydration of the patient as cautiously as possible. Dialysis therapies can be used for treatment of ARF irrespective of age and carry a good prognosis.     

The spectrum of children's kidney diseases—9925 renal biopsy-proven cases from a single center of China between 2004 and 2017

Objective To analyze the spectrum of children's kidney pathology by renal biopsy. Methods The clinical and pathological data of the cases in Jinling Hospital involving the patients younger than 18 years old who received renal biopsy from April 1st, 2004 to December 31th, 2017 were retrospectively collected, and compared with the renal pathological data of 1611 children aged 0-18 years from June 1982 to March 2004. Results This study included 9925 cases of kidney diseases proven by renal biopsy. The ratio of male to female was 1.79∶1. Primary glomerulonephritis (PGN) accounted for 66.14%, and secondary glomerulonephritis (SGN) accounted for 28.00%. Top five of the PGN were IgA nephropathy (IgAN, 19.11%), mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis (MsPGN, 16.07%), minimal change disease (MCD, 14.20%), focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS, 6.19%) and membranous nephropathy (MN, 4.70%) in whole children, IgAN (13.12%), MsPGN (11.20%), MCD(10.63%), FSGS (4.55%) and MN (2.54%) in males, and IgAN (5.99%), MsPGN (4.87%), MCD (3.57%), MN (2.16%) and FSGS (1.63%) in females. Top three of the SGN were Henoch-Schonlein purpura nephritis (HSPN, 17.74%), lupus nephritis (LN, 8.23%) and vasculitis nephropathy (1.82%). The male was in a dominant position in all kinds of pathologic types than female except LN. HSPN was the most frequent type in adolescents between 6-13 years old. LN was the commonest one in 14-18-year-old girls, while IgAN was the the most common in 14-18-year-old boys. Post infective nephritis was the most popular in 12-14-year-old teenagers. It was also found that MN ascended in female. When compared with the data before 2004, HSPN and LN accounted for a greater proportion in SGN, post infective nephritis displayed a smaller proportion. Conclusions PGN is the mainly kind of glomerular disease as before, and immune disorder related to glomerular diseases increase and post infective nephritis decreases in proportion. This study provides the reference and epidemic data for diagnosis, treatment and prevention of children's renal diseases.     

Comparison of asymptomatic and symptomatic childhood glomerulonephritis progressing to renal failure: a report of Kyushu Pediatric Nephrology Study Group

We evaluated the clinicopathological features and the outcome of 33 children with primary glomerulonephritis (GN) as the cause of renal failure; 17 had asymptomatic (ASP) haematuria and/or proteinuria and the remaining 16 had symptoms suggestive of GN. The renal histology in the ASP group indicated IgA GN in 6 children, focal segmental glomerular sclerosis (FSGS) in 4, diffuse proliferative GN (DPGN) in 3, membranous GN (MGN) in 1, membranoproliferative GN (MPGN) in 1 and diffuse sclerosing GN in 2. In the symptomatic (SYP) group, FSGS was evident in 9 children, DPGN in 3, MGN in 2, IgA GN in 1 and MPGN in 1. There was no difference in the histological severity between the two groups. Fourteen children in the SYP group had nephrotic syndrome (NS) and/or hypertension at their initial visits. Only 4 children in the ASP group showed NS or hypertension during the period of follow-up. Eleven children in the ASP group and all in the SYP group were treated with immunosuppressive and/or antihypertensive drugs, but these did not improve the prognosis of the ASP children compared with those in the SYP group. There was no significant difference in the mean duration between the onset of the disease and the start of dialysis in these two groups. In conclusion, it is questionable whether the urinary mass screening programme in Japan will alter the outcome of children with GN.Further participating centres: Oita Medical School, Oita, Japan (Makoto Uchiyama); Okinawa Prefectural Chubu Hospital, Naha, Japan (Koichiroh Tamanaha); Kagoshima University, Kagoshima, Japan (Makoto Ninomiya); Nishibeppu National Hospital, Beppu, Japan (Akio Furuse); School of Medicine, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Kitakyushu, Japan (Minoru Yamagishi); Saga Medical School, Saga, Japan (Tadashi Satoh); Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan (Kiyoaki Nagano); Miyazaki Medical School, Miyazaki, Japan (Kanehide Hashiguchi); Fukuoka Red Cross Hospital, Fukuoka, Japan (Tetsuro Yanase); Yahata Saiseikai Hospital, Kitakyushu, Japan (Keizo Ohbu); Kokura National Hospital, Kitakyushu, Japan (Kumiko Mukuno)     

Renal transplantation in patients above 60 years of age in the modern era: A single center experience with a review of the literature

A retrospective study was conducted of 797 patients receiving renal transplants from January 1985 to March 1997. Patient and graft survival was compared for patients above and below the age of 60. Sixty-ninepatients ≤60 years old received 73 kidneys. Race: 73% Caucasian, 26% Black, 1% Other. Sex: 68%M. Hypertension (19) and PCKD (15) were the most common diagnoses. Mean peak panel reactive antibody (PRA) was 37.7%. Donor age was 2 to 66 years. Mean Cold ischemic time was 28.1 hours. Follow-up was untildeath or until 8/30/97. Patients <60 years included:62% Caucasian, 34% Black, 4% Other, 60% male, Mean PRA 39.3. Of the 69 study patients, 27 died: 19 with afunctioning graft, 8 within one year oftransplantation. Cardiovascular causes (19 patients,72%) and infection (7 patients, 24%) were mostcommon. Common causes of graft loss were death witha functioning graft (19) and chronic rejection (15);other causes were acute rejection and primarynon-function. Univariate analysis of 18 risk factorsshowed CHF and past history of vascular surgerysignificantly (p < 0.05) affected time of return todialysis. Multi variate analysis did not show theseindependent variables to be significant. Abnormalejection fraction and presence of q waves on EKGsignificantly affected time to death (p < 0.05) on uniand multi-variate analysis. After censoring patientsthat died with functioning grafts, difference in graftsurvival between ≥60 and <59 years was notsignificant (p > 0.2). In this study, 68% of older patients had allograftsfunctioning at 1 year. The fact that older patientssuccumb over time from natural causes should not keeppatients from transplantation. Immunosuppressiveagents need to be limited to reduce the incidence ofinfection. Criteria need to be refined to define thosewho are at prohibitive risk, who may not be candidatesfor transplantation. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Acute renal failure in the elderly: experience from a single centre in India

A total of 139 patients with acute renal failure (ARF) werestudied, of which 41 (29.4%) were elderly with mean age of 67.1years and 98 (70.6%) were younger with mean age of 32.3 years.Surgical causes accounted for 65% of geriatric ARF while medicalcauses were predominant in the younger patients (55.1%). Amongstthe surgical causes, prostate-related problems due to obstructionor following transurethral resection of prostate were seen in20 patients (74%). Drugs and sepsis were the predominant causesof medical ARF in the geriatric patients (85.7%). Of all thecauses of geriatric ARF, which included both medical and surgical,nephrotoxic drugs either alone or in combination with otherpredisposing factors were the cause in 22 (51%) patients. Haemodialysiswas needed in 15 of geriatric (36.6%) and 64 of younger (65.3%)ARF patients. Recovery from ARF, as evidenced by normalizationof serum creatinine, was delayed in the elderly as comparedto the younger patients (32.0 versus 11.4 days, P< 0.001).Mortality, though higher in the elderly as compared to the youngerpatients, was not significantly different (9.75% versus 6.1%).     

Recurrent focal glomerulosclerosis in pediatric renal allografts: the Miami experience

Recurrence of focal glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) following renal transplantation is a common cause of allograft loss and clinical morbidity. Recent attempts to control proteinuria and morbidity with plasmapheresis (PP) have met with limited success. Our experience with the use of mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) and angiotensin blockade (AB) in the management of refractory FSGS pre transplant suggested its potential benefit in post-transplant recurrence. This report presents our 25-year experience in pediatric renal transplantation of patients with FSGS divided into two treatment eras: Era 1—prior to use of daclizumab (anti-IL-2R) and Era 2—after daclizumab. A total of 179 pediatric patients were transplanted during the 25-year period. FSGS was confirmed in 27 (15%); 16 of 28 allografts (57%) had recurrence of FSGS during the post-transplant period. In Era 1, only 6 of 16 (38%) recurred in the allograft, while 10 of 12 (83%) recurred during Era 2. The odds ratio of recurrence of FSGS in the allograft after induction with anti-IL-2R was 8.3 (95% confidence interval=1.3–52, P =0.02). Only 2 patients in Era 1 received PP, while 10 in Era 2 were entered into an intensive PP protocol followed by maintenance with AB consisting of angiotensin receptor blockers alone, or in combination with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor. Although proteinuria decreased an average of 80±16% with PP, the response was variable and severe morbid edema persisted in poor responders. Maximum benefit occurred with the addition of AB and MMF. After a follow-up of 27±15 months, proteinuria has shown a sustained decrease of 94±8% below baseline. In conclusion, our experience suggests that, with recurrent FSGS, a limited course of PP followed by maintenance therapy with AB and MMF improves symptoms and may preserve allograft function.     

Experience of renal biopsy in children with nephrotic syndrome

Percutaneous renal biopsy (PRB) is useful in childhood renal diseases. This study was done to determine the indications for renal biopsy in nephrotic children, to correlate the indications with histology and to document the complications of PRB. This study included 250 nephrotic children younger than 18 years old who had renal biopsy from January 1988 to December 2002. Ultrasonographic guidance was used in the latter part of the study. Coagulation profile and renal function assessment and blood group testing were done prior to biopsy. Children were monitored clinically during and after the procedure. All children had local anesthesia and 202 children also had short-acting general anesthesia. All biopsies were done on the left kidneys. The specimens were studied under light and immunofluorescent microscopy. All had a post-biopsy ultrasonography at 24 h. Biopsy was diagnostic in 95.2% of children, with a failure rate of 4.8%. The most common indication for biopsy was steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome (65.2%), and minimal change disease (52.1%) was the most common histology, irrespective of the indications for renal biopsy. Mild (16.0%) and gross (16.8%) hematuria and subcapsular hematoma (6.0%) were the common complications. Fifty-five percent of the children had no complications. Only two children (0.8%) had biopsy site infection.