Anila Abraham

The spectrum of glomerular diseases in a single center: A clinicopathological correlation.

We report the spectrum of biopsy-proven glomerular disease (GD) in a single center in Eastern India. Medical records of 666 patients with biopsy-proven GD over a period of 2 years from July 2010 to July 2012 were retrospectively analyzed. The clinical, laboratory, and histological data were recorded. All biopsy specimens were examined by the same pathologist with light and immunofluorescence microscopy. Electron microscopic analysis was performed only in selected cases. Histologic spectrum of various GDs was studied along with its correlation with the clinical and laboratory parameters. The clinical diagnosis was nephrotic syndrome (NS) in 410 (61.56%), rapidly progressive renal failure/glomerulonephritis in 130 (19.52%), subnephrotic proteinuria/asymtomatic urinary abnormalities in 52 (7.81%), acute kidney injury/acute nephritic syndrome in 40 (6.01%), and macroscopic hematuria in 4 (0.6%) patients. Male: Female ratio was 1.05; 27.92% (n = 186) were < 18 years, 68.47% (n = 456) were 18–59 years, and 3.6% (n = 24) were ≥ 60 years of age. The most common GD was minimal change disease (MCD) (20.12%, n = 134); others were focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) (18.02%, n = 15.32%), lupus nephritis (LN) (15.32%, n = 102), membranous nephropathy (MN) (12.01%, n = 80), and IgA nephropathy (IgAN) (8.11%, n = 54). Primary GD was present in 79.13% (n = 527) and common histologies were MCD (25.42%), FSGS (22.58%), MN (14.42%), and IgAN (10.25%). Secondary GD was present in 20.87% (n = 139), with the most common being LN (73.38%, n = 102). Among the NS (n = 410), the most common GD was MCD (31.46%), followed by FSGS (25.6%), MN (15.58%), LN (7.8%), IgAN (6.09%), and membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (4.88%). FSGS was the most common primary GD in adults, MCD in children, and MN in the elderly patients. The spectrum of GD varies according to the area of study and changes over time. A biopsy registry is needed for documenting this variation.

Non-IgA mesangioproliferative glomerulonephritis: a benign entity?

BACKGROUND Non-IgA mesangioproliferative glomerulonephritis is a well recognized but less studied entity. The clinical manifestations, treatment response and long-term outcome have not been clearly defined. METHODS This single-centre study included patients with biopsy-proven non-IgA mesangioproliferative glomerulonephritis who had been on regular follow-up for >3 years. Their clinical features at presentation, response to therapy and long-term renal outcome are addressed in this study. RESULTS Nephrotic syndrome developed in 51 of 57 patients (89.4%). The majority of them--34 of 51(80%)--were steroid sensitive and had either infrequent or no relapse. However, steroid-dependent nephrotic syndrome occurred in eight patients (15.6%), while steroid resistance occurred in nine patients (17.6 %). Thirteen patients developed chronic kidney disease (CKD) with three progressing to end-stage renal disease, three to CKD Stage 4 and seven to CKD Stage 3. CONCLUSIONS Non-IgA mesangioproliferative glomerulonephritis is a disease, which is not benign, and is associated with significant treatment-related morbidity.

Acute interstitial nephritis in patients with viperine snake bite: Single center experience of a rare presentation

Acute renal failure following vasculotoxic viperine snake bites is very common in South Asia. Acute tubular necrosis and acute cortical necrosis are the common findings, with acute interstitial nephritis (AIN) being a rare presentation. We conducted renal biopsies in all patients who were admitted in our institute with viperine snake bite-related acute kidney injury (AKI) and who did not improve after three weeks of supportive care. Patients who had findings of AIN on renal histology were included for this study. Of a total of 42 patients, there were five patients (11.9%) with AIN. Our series of five patients is the largest series of this rare presentation in the literature. All of these five patients had features of severe envenomation, severe AKI network stage of AKI and very high antivenom requirements. They had a very prolonged stay in the hospital, and four of the five patients developed chronic kidney disease on follow-up. The overall outcome in this group was worse as compared with those who did not have AIN. AIN following viperine snake bites is not a very rare presentation. The reason for the development of this pathology is unclear, but direct venom-related effects are possible. This presentation portends a poor overall long-term prognosis as demonstrated in our case series.

Tip variant of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis: is it truly a benign variant?

Abstract Background: Even though frequently described as a benign entity, the outcomes of the tip variant of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) have proven to be unclear. Methods: This retrospective study includes a cohort of tip variant cases who presented to us from 2009 to 2012 and the analysis of their presenting clinical, histopathological features and treatment outcomes in comparison to the not otherwise specified (NOS) variants from our center in East India. Results: Of the 224 biopsies of primary FSGS, 30 cases were the tip variant (13.39%). The mean age of presentation was around 29 years, with 57% being males. A nephrotic presentation was seen in 87% of cases, with 20% showing a presentation at <18 years of age for the first time. Global sclerosis, interstitial fibrosis, tubular atrophy and arteriolar hyalinosis were seen more commonly in the NOS variant. Twenty five patients of tip variant received steroid therapy and eight received alternative immunosuppression. Around 87% of the tip variant cases achieved some form of remission in proteinuria and 13.3% had a doubling of creatinine at a median follow-up of 2 years in comparison to NOS group in which 80% achieved some form of remission and 20% had a doubling of creatinine. Conclusion: Though the histopathological features and treatment responsiveness of the tip variant appear to be better than the NOS variety, the prognostic outcome does not seem to be as favorable as implicated previously with an important percentage of patients showing progressive worsening of renal function within a relatively short time span (2 years) in our cohort.

Spectrum of renal allograft biopsy: A five-year experience at a tertiary care center of Eastern India

Renal allograft dysfunction (RAD) can have myriad causes and presentations. Allograft biopsy remains the gold standard for optimum management. This is a retrospective study carried out at a tertiary care institute from August 2011 to March 2016. Details of the renal allograft biopsy requisitions were recorded and analyzed. Two hundred and two patients had undergone kidney transplantation (KT) during the study period. One hundred and twenty-six had undergone renal biopsy for RAD. The acute asymptomatic rise of serum creatinine was the most common clinical presentation (47.61%) followed by chronic RAD (CRAD) (19.84%), proteinuria (15.87%), immediate graft dysfunction (10.31%), and persistent active urinary sediments (6.34%) in that order. The incidence of delayed graft function was 1.98%. The overall incidence of biopsy-proven rejection was 8.41% within oneyear and 8.91% beyond oneyear of transplant. Acute cellular rejection (ACR) [with or without antibody-mediated rejection (AMR)] was found in 65%; AMR was found in 40% and 15% had both ACR and AMR. Borderline acute cell-mediated rejection was found in 22.5% of biopsies. CRAD was due to chronic rejection and chronic calcineurin inhibitor toxicity in only about one-fourth of the cases. Incidence of glomerulo-nephritis was 10.89% and most of these occurred two years after KT. Renal allograft biopsy was associated with minor complications in 3.17% of cases. Clinical presentations do not reliably distinguish the various causes of RAD. Allograft biopsy is a mainstay in the diagnosis of RAD and is safe. Results of live donor first transplantation using complement-dependent cytotoxi-city crossmatch are comparable to those programs using newer methods like solid-phase assays. However, the direct comparison of these results with other studies may not be completely applicable.

Occurrence of double primary malignancies in an African renal transplant recipient.

A 63-year-old African male with end stage renal disease who received a renal transplantation from his daughter after successful treatment of hepatitis C virus, type 1 genotype developed metastatic Kaposis sarcoma and subsequently adenocarcinoma of the prostate. He was successfully treated with chemotherapy and reduction of immunosuppression and switch over to rapamycin.

Enterobacter cloacae osteomyelitis induced post-infectious glomerulonephritis on diabetic nephropathy with progressive renal failure.

Infection has been well documented to cause glomerulonephritis (GN), with Streptococcus being the most common pathogen. However, the pattern of the disease has changed over recent decades [1–3]. The bacterial flora now comprises Staphylococcus and Gram-negative strains, and the focus of infection is wider than the throat and the skin [1]. GN secondary to osteomyelitis has rarely been reported. We report a case of immune complex-mediated diffuse proliferative GN with acute on chronic renal failure, superimposed on diabetic nephropathy due to osteomyelitis caused by Enterobacter cloacae.