Estimation of pathological changes from clinico-laboratory data in diabetic nephropathy: proposal of a diagnostic aid...

In the diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy, the patho-histological examination of a specimen obtained by autopsy or biopsy is essential. However, if an accurate substituting estimation were available, patients would not be subjected to the risk of biopsy. We have tried to estimate the patho-histological changes in glomeruli from clinico-laboratory data using the relation between the patho-histological changes in glomeruli and clinico-laboratory data in patients with diabetic nephropathy. The coincidence of patho-histological changes and estimated changes from clinico-laboratory data was 90.0% for the 40 internal samples and 72.5% for the 40 external samples. The authors conclude that these results are satisfactory for practical use.