The renal pathology in children dying with hepatic cirrhosis

The aim of this analysis was to observe the pathologic changes in the kidney in 23 children dying of cirrhosis, including five children with renal failure. Besides these pathologic changes, glomerular cellularity and arteriolar wall thickness of these patients were compared with 18 age matched autopsy controls dying of nonhepatic and nonrenal causes. Histologic examination of the kidneys in these cirrhotic children showed significant tubular changes in five patients, diffuse glomerulosclerosis in five, only one child had membranous glomerulopathy or glomerulonephritis and one cirrhotic with serum hepatitis B surface antigen positivity had polyarteritis nodosa. No statistically significant changes were observed in the glomerular cellularity and the arteriolar wall thickness in these cirrhotic children as compared to the controls. However, medial proliferation and hyaline arteriolosclerosis were observed in four cirrhotic children. Tubular bile casts and nephrocalcinosis were the sole lesions causing renal failure in two cases. A combination of glomerulosclerosis, cast formation and arteriolosclerosis was seen in the remaining three patients. Thus the kidney showed a spectrum of pathology in pediatric cirrhosis. The tubular lesions causing renal failure represent acute treatable lesions whereas glomerulosclerosis and arteriosclerosis stand for a more chronic and less reversible renal damage.