Adult Native Renal Biopsy Experience of Ege University for 12 Consecutive Years

Introductıon. Establishing epidemiological data on frequency and prevalence of biopsy proven nephropathies may open new directions on prevention, detection and treatment of nephropathies in all age groups. Methods. We evaluated adult native renal biopsies of Ege University from January 1996 to May 2009. According to the histological findings, renal biopsies were classified in four major categories: primary glomerulonephritis (GN), secondary GN, tubulointerstitial nephropathies and chronic GN. Results. Among 1702 renal biopsies examined (patients characteristics: male gender 52 %, mean age 40±15 years, range of ages 16-82 years old), the most frequent renal diseases were primary (52.4 %) and secondary (31 %) glomerulonephritis (GN). Chronic GN was diagnosed in 5.23 % and tubulointerstitial nephropathies in 4.4 % of cases. The major causes of primary GN were focal segmental glomerulosclerosis in 10.3 %, membranous GN in 9.2 % and IgA nephropathy in 8.5 % of cases. Amyloidosis in 12.2 %, systemic lupus erythematosus in 11 % and vasculitis in 3.2 % of cases were the most frequent causes of secondary GN. Primary GN was predominant in all age groups. Above the age of 65 years, membranous (14.8 %) and crescentic (9.9 %) GN was the most frequently observed glomerular diseases whereas below the age of 65 years, IgA nephropathy (9 %) was predominant. Amyloidosis (19 %) and lupus nephritis (11.7 %) were the main causes of secondary GN in the same age groups. The diagnoses of secondary GN, chronic GN and TIN tended to increase with time. According to our registry, primary GN was lower and the prevalence of secondary GN was higher as compared to registries of other Balkan countries. The higher prevalence of amyloidosis in our region may explain this discrepancy. Conclusion. Data obtained, which represent a single centre experience, may allow epidemiologic studies to give answer to several open questions regarding prevention and treatment of nephropathies.