Renal biopsy in SLE irrespective of clinical findings: long-term follow-up

We analyzed data from 56 patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) in whom renal biopsies were done systematically. The data taken into account for the study were: the histologic glomerular lesions at diagnosis, serum creatinine value, degree of proteinuria and qualitative urine sediment analysis at the time of biopsy, patient age at diagnosis and the evolution of renal function until the time the study was made. Therapy was prescribed according to the glomerular histologic lesion. The mean follow-up period from the time of the first biopsy was 8.2 years. At the time of the study, only 3 patients (5.3%) were on dialysis, while the rest of the patients (94.7%) had a satisfactory renal function. Our results indicate that systematic renal biopsy in SLE patients can furnish valuable data concerning the renal status whether there are clinical signs of renal involvement or not. Treatment based on the histologic images alone may considerably improve renal survival in SLE.