Epidemiology of biopsy-proven glomerulonephritis in the past 25 years in the North-Eastern area of Romania

Int Urol Nephrol. 2022 Feb;54(2):365-376. doi: 10.1007/s11255-021-02881-z. Epub 2021 May 15.

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this retrospective study was: to analyze the epidemiological patterns of the kidney disease based on clinical and histological features in a single-center in the N-E region of Romania, between 2011 and 2019 and to compare the biopsy results with the others periods, as well as the results from other countries.

Methods: We studied 442 renal biopsies. The indications for renal biopsy were represented by the clinical features: nephrotic syndrome, nephritic syndrome, asymptomatic urinary abnormalities, acute kidney injury, and chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology.

Results: During the past 8 years, the annual incidence of renal biopsies was constant, albeit this incidence remained lower than in other countries. Nephrotic syndrome was the most common indication for renal biopsy (47.6%). Primary glomerulonephritis (GN) was the most common diagnosis in each of the three periods, followed by secondary GN. Vascular nephropathy and TIN were constant as a proportion from the overall biopsies in each of the three periods. The membranoproliferative GN (24.4%) and membranous nephropathy (MN) (21.9%) were the most prevalent primary GN, while lupus nephritis (LN) was the most common secondary glomerular disease in young female patients (7.5%). Compared to 1994-2004 period, we observed a significant decrease of incidence of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) and mesangial proliferative GN, and a significant increases in the frequency of MN.

Conclusion: The results of this study show that the GN distribution model was constant in N-E Romania and became similar to that observed in many countries with high socio-economic status.

Keywords: Clinical syndrome; Glomerulonephritis; Histological features; Kidney disease.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Biopsy
  • Female
  • Glomerulonephritis / epidemiology*
  • Glomerulonephritis / pathology*
  • Humans
  • Kidney / pathology*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Romania / epidemiology
  • Time Factors