Patterns of kidney diseases diagnosed by kidney biopsy and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Yogyakarta, Indonesia: A single-center study

Abstract

Background: Glomerular diseases rank third among the causes of chronic kidney disease worldwide and in Indonesia, and its burden continues to increase, especially regarding the sociodemographic index. Kidney biopsy remains the gold standard for the diagnosis and classification of glomerular diseases. It is crucial for developing treatment plans, determining the degree of histologic changes, and identifying disease relapse.

Aim: To describe the patterns of biopsy-proven kidney diseases in adult patients.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the demographic, histopathologic, clinical, and laboratory data of 75 adult patients with biopsy-proven kidney diseases at our institution recorded from 2017 to 2022.

Results: Among the patients, 43 (57.3%) were females, and the mean age was 31.52 years ± 11.70 years. The most common histopathologies were lupus nephritis (LN) (33.3%), minimal change disease (MCD) (26.7%), and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (10.7%). LN (41.7%) was frequently diagnosed in women and MCD (28.1%) in men. The most common cause of nephritic syndrome was LN (36.7%) and of nephrotic syndrome was MCD (40%).

Conclusion: Different kidney disease patterns were observed in different sexes, age categories, clinical syndromes, and biopsy dates relative to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

Keywords: Epidemiology; Glomerular diseases; Kidney biopsy; Kidney diseases; Renal biopsy.

Figure 1

Trend of number of biopsies from 2017 to 2022 at Dr. Sardjito General Hospital.

Figure 2

Histopathology distribution. A: Sex; B: Age categories; C: Clinical syndromes; D: Biopsy dates. TIN: Tubulointerstitial nephritis; PSGN: Post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis; MCD: Minimal change disease; LN: Lupus nephritis; IgAN: Immunoglobulin A nephropathy; GGS: Gangliogliomas; FSGS: Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis; GN: Glomerulonephritis.