Late Presentation for Kidney Biopsy: Clinical Presentations and Laboratory Findings

Although the number of patients reaching end-stage kidney disease without a biopsy- proven diagnosis is increasing, kidney biopsies play a key role in diagnosing kidney disease. We analyzed prospective data from patients with kidney disease who underwent percutaneous native kidney biopsies from January 2006 to December 2017. Demographic data, clinical presentations, and the laboratory and radiological findings at the time of biopsy were analyzed. Of 530 patients, 42.8% were male. The mean age was 33.9 (32.8-34.9.2) years; 66.3% were aged 25-64 years. Edema was the main clinical presentation (61.9%), with clinical urine changes seen in 66.7%. Most (89.6%) were nondiabetic; 46.8% had high blood pressure or were on antihypertensive therapy. Most patients (77.5%) were in Stages I, II, and III, and 12.3% underwent hemodialysis at the time of admission. Most (54.4%) were obese. Low hemoglobin (31.8%), high triglycerides (30%), high total cholesterol (58.2%), low serum albumin (73.9%), nephrotic proteinuria (61.8.6%), and microscopic hematuria (79.8%) were the main laboratory findings. The immunological investigations showed that antinuclear antibodies, positive anti-double-stranded DNA (anti-dsDNA), and extractable nuclear antigens were positive in 29.6%, 20.7%, and 19.7%, respectively. Perinuclear antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) were positive in 9.6% and cytoplasmic ANCA were positive in 5.4%, whereas immunoglobulin A was detected in 4.6%. More than one- third of the patients had reached advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) Stages IIIB, IV, and V. This indicates the need to increase awareness about CKD, greater utilization of kidney biopsies, and earlier investigations to enable accurate diagnoses, and proper and timely management.