ASYMPTOMATIC MILD INTERMITTENT PROTEINURIA; A PERCUTANEOUS RENAL BIOPSY STUDY.

Abstract

SINCE THE time of Richard Bright, the appearance of protein in the urine has been associated with the presence of renal disease. Even now, this dictum remains almost universally accepted when protein is consistently present in the urine. 1-4 The presence of intermittent proteinuria, however, is met with considerable disagreement regarding its clinical significance. Until recently, orthostatic proteinuria was considered a benign condition, most frequently seen in the adolescent years and not associated with the presence of renal disease. 5-12 The more general use of percutaneous renal biopsy has now shed doubt on the innocent nature of orthostatic proteinuria and indeed, suggests that an anatomical lesion of the glomerulus is present in most cases. 4,13,14 Similar attention has not been given to that group of patients with asymptomatic intermittent proteinuria of mild degree, which is independent of body position. We do find mention of this type of proteinuria in the