Revised classification of lupus nephritis is valuable in predicting renal outcome with an indication of the proportion of glomeruli affected by chronic lesions.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:

To determine if the International Society of Nephrology/Renal Pathology Society (ISN/RPS) 2003 classification of lupus nephritis (LN) is helpful in predicting renal outcome.

METHODS:

A total of 92 patients with LN who underwent renal biopsy in our hospital were re-classified according to the ISN/RPS 2003 criteria.

RESULTS:

The mean patient age was 36.8 yrs and the median observation period was 65 months. The relative frequency for each class was as follows: Class I (minimal mesangial LN) 0%, Class II (mesangial proliferative LN) 13%, Class III (focal LN) 17%, Class IV (diffuse LN) 60% and Class V (membranous LN) 10%. Within Class IV, diffuse segmental (Class IV-S) was 25% and diffuse global (Class IV-G) 75%. During the observation period, renal function was more likely to deteriorate in Class IV-G cases than in Class IV-S cases. Importantly, when Class IV-G was subdivided into cases involving active lesion alone [IV-G (A)] or chronic lesion [IV-G (A/C)], the majority of cases in IV-G (A) was nephrotic, but responded well to therapy. In contrast, renal function declined only in IV-G (A/C) cases. Patients with Class IV-G (A/C) had persistent proteinuria in spite of intensified therapies. Moreover, the higher proportion of chronic lesions was related with the deterioration of renal function.

CONCLUSIONS:

This study showed that in Class IV-G cases, renal outcome differed in the presence of chronicity. Chronicity could be a critical factor in predicting outcome. Thus, the revised classification of LN is clinically valuable in identifying different renal outcomes among patients with diffuse LN.

• Authors: N Hiramatsu, T Kuroiwa, H Ikeuchi, A Maeshima, Y Kaneko, K Hiromura, K Ueki, Y Nojima
• Journal: Rheumatology (Oxford, England) (Rheumatology (Oxford)) Vol. 47 Issue 5 Pg. 702-7 (May 2008) ISSN: 1462-0332 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 18390590 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Biomarkers
• Creatinine

Topics

• Adult
• Biomarkers (blood)
• Chronic Disease
• Creatinine (blood)
• Female
• Humans
• Kidney Failure, Chronic (pathology)
• Kidney Glomerulus (pathology, physiopathology)
• Lupus Nephritis (classification, pathology, physiopathology)
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Prognosis
• Proteinuria
• Statistics, Nonparametric
• Treatment Outcome