Patterns of renal disease in South Korea: a 20-year review of a single-center renal biopsy database

Abstract

Background: Several registries and centers have reported the results of renal biopsies from different parts of the world. As there are few data regarding the epidemiology of glomerulonephritis (GN) in South Korea, we conducted this study on renal biopsy findings during the last 20 years from a single center.Methods: Data for 818 patients who underwent renal biopsy at our center between 1992 and 2011 were collected retrospectively. All kidney specimens were examined with light microscopy (LM) and immunofluorescent microscopy (IF).Results: There were 818 cases of native kidney biopsies. In cases of primary GN, the most frequent type of renal pathology in adults (18–59 years) was mesangial proliferative GN (MsPGN, 34.5%) followed by IgA nephropathy (IgAN, 33.3%) and membranous GN (MGN, 8.8%). Indications in adults (18–59 years) were asymptomatic urinary abnormalities (75.3%) followed by nephrotic syndrome (19.8%) and acute kidney injury (AKI, 3.4%).Conclusions: Among 818 renal biopsy specimens, MsPGN and IgAN were the most frequent biopsy-proven renal diseases. MGN was the third most common cause of primary GN and lupus nephritis (LN) was the most common secondary glomerular disease. Our data contribute to the epidemiology of renal disease in South Korea.

The spectrum of biopsy-proven renal diseases in Korea

“…Although these data cannot be assumed to be representative of the Korean population, the results are largely compatible with previous studies from Korean patients [1,3,4]. In the current study, thin basement membrane disease previously had an exceptionally high frequency but dramatically declined in recent years.…”

“…Therefore, readers should keep these things in mind when they compare the results of studies. Table 1 summarizes the previous publications on frequencies of biopsy-proven renal diseases reported in China, Japan, and South Korea [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. These data show major biopsy-proven glomerular diseases in East Asian countries.…”

“…According to the underlying etiology, MsPGN could be further classified as immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy, lupus nephritis, C3 glomerulopathy, and so on. Therefore, analyses using the term MsPGN in previous studies [1,2] cannot be directly compared to other reports using refined terminologies. Secondly, indications for performing renal biopsy in patients suspected of kidney disease are quite different among countries, institutions, and even clinicians.…”

Patterns in renal diseases diagnosed by kidney biopsy: A single-center experience

“…Previous studies have shown that membranous nephropathy (MN) is the most common cause of adult nephrotic syndrome, whereas minimal change disease (MCD) is the predominant cause of nephrotic syndrome in children [5]. In elderly patients, the relative proportion of crescentic glomerulonephritis (GN), MN, and focal segmental glomerulonephritis (FSGS) is higher than in younger patients [6,7]. Moreover, the prevalence of glomerular disease varies according to the period.…”

20 year trends in renal disease mortality in Ghana: A review of autopsies

“…Information on the changing patterns of renal diseases in relation to cause of death is scanty and largely absent in Ghana . This has been attributed to the absence of renal biopsy registries and published autopsy data .…”