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Systemic lupus erythematosus is a multisystem autoimmune disease that commonly affects the kidneys. Lupus nephritis (LN) is the most common cause of kidney injury in systemic lupus erythematosus and a major risk factor for morbidity and mortality. The pathophysiology of LN is heterogeneous. Genetic and environmental factors likely contribute to this heterogeneity. Despite improved understanding of the pathogenesis of LN, treatment advances have been few and risk for kidney failure remains unacceptably high. This installment in the Core Curriculum of Nephrology provides an up-todate review of the current understanding of LN epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment. Challenging issues such as the management of LN in pregnancy, timing of transplantation, and the evolving role of corticosteroid use in the management of LN are discussed. We review the currently accepted approach to care for patients with LN and highlight deficiencies that need to be addressed to better preserve long-term kidney health and improve outcomes in LN.

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Background and objectivesNative kidney biopsies are commonly performed in the diagnosis of acute kidney diseases and CKD. Because of the invasive nature of the procedure, bleeding-related complications are not uncommon. The National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases–sponsored Kidney Precision Medicine Project requires that all participants undergo a kidney biopsy; therefore, the objective of this analysis was to study complication rates of native kidney biopsies performed using automated devices under kidney imaging.Design, setting, participants, & measurementsThis is a systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature published from January 1983 to March 2018. The initial PubMed search yielded 1139 manuscripts. Using predetermined selection criteria, 87 manuscripts were included in the final analysis. A random effects meta-analysis for proportions was used to obtain combined estimates of complication rates. Freeman–Tukey double-arcsine transformations were used to stabilize variance as complications were rare.ResultsA total of 118,064 biopsies were included in this study. Patient age ranged from 30 to 79 years, and 45% of patients were women. On the basis of our meta-analysis, pain at the site of biopsy is estimated to occur in 4.3% of biopsied patients, hematomas are estimated to occur in 11%, macroscopic hematuria is estimated to occur in 3.5%, bleeding requiring blood transfusions is estimated to occur in 1.6%, and interventions to stop bleeding are estimated to occur in only 0.3%. Death attributed to native kidney biopsy was a rare event, occurring only in an estimated 0.06% of all biopsies but only 0.03% of outpatient biopsies. Complication rates were higher in hospitalized patients and in those with acute kidney disease. The reported complications varied on the basis of study type and geographic location.ConclusionsAlthough the native kidney biopsy is an invasive diagnostic procedure, the rates of bleeding complications are low. Albeit rare, death can occur postbiopsy. Complications are more frequently seen after kidney biopsies of hospitalized patients with AKI.

SAGN biopsies show marked variability in IgA immunofluorescence staining and low frequency of subepithelial humps compared with poststreptococcal GN. Occasional ANCA positivity is present in cases of SAGN, even in infections other than endocarditis. Therefore, biopsy diagnosis can be difficult particularly when clinical symptoms of infection are subtle. Both the pathologist and the nephrologist should be aware of these diagnostic pitfalls.

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