Glycosuria in glomerular diseases: histopathology and clinical correlations

There are doubts about the presence of glycosuria and the progress of glomerular disease. Some reports suggest that glycosuria could be an index of a more severe tubulointerstitial lesion. We investigated the presence of glycosuria in 60 patients with primary glomerular diseases: 17 patients (28%) had glycosuria and 43 patients (72%) were glycosuria free. The two groups were similar in age, arterial pressure and sex. Serum creatinine was higher in patients with glycosuria (2.0 +/- 1.7 vs 1.3 +/- 0.9 mg/dl, P < 0.05). The protein excretion rate was 7.5 +/- 3.7 vs 5.3 +/- 4.2 g/day (P > 0.05) in patients with and without glycosuria, respectively, while serum albumin was lower in patients with glycosuria (1.7 +/- 0.6 vs 2.7 +/- 1.0 g/dl, P < 0.05). Several histological forms were present in the group with glycosuria, with membraneous glomerulonephritis being the most frequent. Histological evidence of tubular atrophy and interstitial fibrosis prevailed in patients with glycosuria, suggesting a poor prognosis for these patients. We may conclude that the presence of glycosuria in patients with glomerular disease is associated with more pronounced tubular atrophy and interstitial fibrosis and therefore imply a poorer prognosis.