Safety and feasibility of outpatient percutaneous native kidney biopsy in the developing world: experience in a large tertiary care centre in Eastern India.

AIM: Optimal time of observation following percutaneous biopsy has not been clearly established. Outpatient biopsy protocol was established in our centre for low risk patients and we assessed its efficacy and safety. METHODS: Patients fulfilling the low risk profile underwent a real time ultrasound-guided percutaneous native kidney biopsy. They were observed for 6 h and any complication was recorded. Ultrasound and hematocrit was done only in those patients with complications. Patients were contacted on telephone after 24 h and in case of any emergency. RESULTS: A total of 403 native kidney biopsies were performed from June 2011 to June 2012 of which 115 (28.5%) were on an outpatient basis. This was a 41.4% increase in the number of biopsies compared to the same period in the previous year. Fifteen patients (13.04%) had macroscopic haematuria within 2, 4 and 6 h in eight (53.33%), six (40%) and one (6.67%) patient, respectively. One of them had haematuria on follow-up phone call resolving without intervention. Only two (1.74%) patients developed significant bleeding with a drop in haematocrit needing overnight observation, with one requiring blood transfusion (with perinephric haematoma not requiring intervention). Complication rates were also similar in the 288 patients who had at least an overnight inpatient observation post-biopsy. There was no biopsy related mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Percutaneous native kidney biopsies can be safely performed on an outpatient basis in selected low risk patients. This approach increases the number of procedures, decreases the waiting periods and can have potential cost savings making it an attractive option in the developing world.

Protocol renal biopsy in patients with lupus nephritis: a single center experience.

Renal biopsy plays an indispensable role in the diagnosis and management of patients with lupus nephritis (LN). A number of studies have evaluated the role of a repeat biopsy in case of disease relapse or treatment unresponsiveness. We studied 40 patients with LN with renal biopsies performed at baseline and after six months of therapy. The baseline and protocol biopsies were compared with respect to histological class transformation, crescents, tubular atrophy, interstitial fibrosis and glomerulosclerosis. We also compared serum creatinine, hemoglobin, systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity index (SLEDAI) scores, 24-h urine protein excretion and C3levels as well as activity index (AI) and chronicity index (CI) at baseline and at six months. Comparison of means was made by paired t test, McNemar test and marginal homogeneity test (multinomial data). Histological class transformation was seen in 10 patients (25%). Intra-class progression to greater chronicity was seen in 10 other patients (25%).There was an increase in glomerulosclerosis, tubular atrophy, interstitial fibrosis and a reduction in cellularity, crescent formation and wire loop lesions in the protocol biopsy. A decline in AI (6.05 vs. 2.50, P <0.001) and SLEDAI scores (8.1 vs. 3.7, P <0.001) and an increase in CI (0.68 vs. 2.52, P <0.001) was observed at the time of protocol biopsy. Our study shows a trend toward greater chronicity in protocol biopsies in LN.

Acute interstitial nephritis in patients with viperine snake bite: single center experience of a rare presentation.

Acute renal failure following vasculotoxic viperine snake bites is very common in South Asia. Acute tubular necrosis and acute cortical necrosis are the common findings, with acute interstitial nephritis (AIN) being a rare presentation. We conducted renal biopsies in all patients who were admitted in our institute with viperine snake bite-related acute kidney injury (AKI) and who did not improve after three weeks of supportive care. Patients who had findings of AIN on renal histology were included for this study. Of a total of 42 patients, there were five patients (11.9%) with AIN. Our series of five patients is the largest series of this rare presentation in the literature. All of these five patients had features of severe envenomation, severe AKI network stage of AKI and very high antivenom requirements. They had a very prolonged stay in the hospital, and four of the five patients developed chronic kidney disease on follow-up. The overall outcome in this group was worse as compared with those who did not have AIN. AIN following viperine snake bites is not a very rare presentation. The reason for the development of this pathology is unclear, but direct venom-related effects are possible. This presentation portends a poor overall long-term prognosis as demonstrated in our case series.