Cystic kidney disease.

The term polycystic kidney disease (PKD) has inappropriately been used to describe any kidney riddled with cysts(l). Polycystic kidney disease is a rare disorder and was seen in 16 patients whereas renal cysts occurred in 136 of 6521 consecutive autopsies in infants and children(2). The matter has been further complicated with the recognition of juvenile presentation of autosomal recessive(3) and infantile presentation of autosomal dominant polyc-ystic kidney disease(4). Moreover it seems possible to differentiate most cases of these two conditions on the basis of history, his-tological findings in kidney and other organs(5,6) and radiological examination(7). It is important to establish the exact diagnosis as this helps in genetic counselling. Review of the Indian literature shows only a few reports of this condition(l,8/9). The present report is based on autopsy findings of infants admitted to our nursery with a clinical diagnosis of polycystic kidney disease in order to define the