Renal biopsy: it is time for pragmatism and consensus

To obtain truly informed consent, we must be able to advise our patients accurately about the relative risk and benefit of any treatment plan. Percutaneous renal biopsy remains the gold standard investigation in the evaluation of intrinsic renal disease. There have been significant improvements in practice over the past decades with regards to percutaneous renal biopsy. Across centres, we appear now to have reached agreement on many aspects of this procedure, such as the need for blood pressure control, avoidance of coagulopathy, use of spring-loaded needles under direct imaging guidance and a need to monitor for complications. The authors from Rush University Medical Centre provide reassurance that renal biopsy in the modern era remains a safe procedure with a low rate of significant bleeding. There remain areas of divergence in practice that may have unintended and deleterious consequences: administration of desmopressin and discontinuation of aspirin, for example, both carry a risk of thrombosis. It is our opinion that it is time to reach consensus on our interpretation of the available data and to draw up guidelines to standardize our biopsy practice internationally.