Spectrum of biopsy-proven renal diseases: A single center experience

Kidney biopsy is one of the most important tools in the assessment of kidney disease as histopathological diagnosis promotes evidence-based practice in Nephrology. This study included 271 consecutive percutaneous kidney biopsies (145 males and 126 females) performed at EMS Memorial Cooperative Hospital, Perinthalmanna, Kerala, India, from September 2009 to March 2016. Among the biopsy-proven renal diseases (BPRD), primary glomerular diseases (PGD) were the most common (77.78%) followed by secondary glomerular diseases (SGD) (12.22%) and tubulointerstitial diseases (10%). The IgA nephropathy (IgAN) was the most common PGD and majority had mesangial hypercellularity (M1) (93.54%), tubular atrophy (T1 or T2 68.25%), and the most common pattern was M1, E0, S0, and T1, suggesting that patients of Indian subcontinent have aggressive disease type, unlike western literature. The focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) was the second most common PGD and the majority were of not otherwise specified type. FSGS, membranous nephropathy and minimal change disease were the three most common causes for PGD causing nephrotic syndrome. Diabetic nephropathy and lupus nephritis were the two most common biopsy-proven SGDs. Among the patients of diabetes mellitus who underwent renal biopsy with suspicion of nondiabetic renal disease (NDRD), 58.33% had NDRD, 16.67% had DN+ NDRD, and 26.67% had DN alone. This study shows the changing pattern BPRD in comparison to earlier studies. This study also confirms the aggressive nature of IgAN in Indian patients and underlines the importance of renal biopsy in patients of DM.