MO248: A Renal Biopsy Might be a Mandatory Procedure in Patients with Hypertension and Decreased Renal Function Despite Normal Urinalysis Findings

Abstract

Abstract BACKGROUND AND AIMS The most common cause of the end-stage renal disease is diabetes and hypertension. However, most centers do not try to find the cause of hypertension in patients with early-stage CKD but give antihypertensive medicine because most centers regard the cause as essential hypertension. Since blood pressure is regulated by the kidneys, we tried to find the cause of hypertension related to kidney disease. METHOD We carried out a single-center retrospective analysis of 1440 kidney biopsies performed for 8 years at a single center in Korea. All cases were done at the OPD level without admission, of which 367 cases (25.5%) showed hypertension/early-stage CKD with normal urinary findings at the time of renal biopsy. RESULTS The results are as follows in order of frequencies: IgA nephropathy (32.7%), mild focal nonspecific glomerulonephritis (GN) (17.7%), focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) (15.3%), diffuse mesangial proliferative GN (12.8%), interstitial nephritis with tubular atrophy (7.6%), podocyte disease (3.3%) and membranous nephropathy (1.9%), and others include lupus nephritis, membranoproliferative GN, C1q nephropathy, C3GN, malignant hypertension (1.4%), etc. Most patients (95%) with hypertension/early-stage CKD were associated with chronic glomerulonephritis. Most patients with serious glomerular disease that may progress to ESRD, such as IgAN, FSGS and diffuse mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis, have improved by aggressive immunotherapy. CONCLUSION In conclusion, before considering antihypertensive medicine in patients with early-stage CKD, a renal biopsy might be a mandatory procedure to save the kidney because more than 90% of cases are associated with glomerular disease.