A multicenter randomized controlled trial of tonsillectomy combined with steroid pulse therapy in patients with immunoglobulin A nephropathy.

BACKGROUND: The study aim was, for the first time, to conduct a multicenter randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effect of tonsillectomy in patients with IgA nephropathy (IgAN). METHODS: Patients with biopsy-proven IgAN, proteinuria and low serum creatinine were randomly allocated to receive tonsillectomy combined with steroid pulses (Group A; n = 33) or steroid pulses alone (Group B; n = 39). The primary end points were urinary protein excretion and the disappearance of proteinuria and/or hematuria. RESULTS: During 12 months from baseline, the percentage decrease in urinary protein excretion was significantly larger in Group A than that in Group B (P < 0.05). However, the frequency of the disappearance of proteinuria, hematuria, or both (clinical remission) at 12 months was not statistically different between the groups. Logistic regression analyses revealed the assigned treatment was a significant, independent factor contributing to the disappearance of proteinuria (odds ratio 2.98, 95% CI 1.01-8.83, P = 0.049), but did not identify an independent factor in achieving the disappearance of hematuria or clinical remission. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate tonsillectomy combined with steroid pulse therapy has no beneficial effect over steroid pulses alone to attenuate hematuria and to increase the incidence of clinical remission. Although the antiproteinuric effect was significantly greater in combined therapy, the difference was marginal, and its impact on the renal functional outcome remains to be clarified.

A case report of the anti-glomerular basement membrane glomerulonephritis with mesangial IgA deposition.

A 46-year-old Japanese male with a past medical history of microscopic hematuria presented with nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain for which he had been diagnosed with rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis with a peak serum creatinine of 6.6 mg/dL and anti-glomerular basement membrane antibody of 214 EU. Light microscopy showed cellular crescent formation, and immunofluorescence illustrated both linear staining of IgG along the glomerular basement membrane and granular staining of IgA and C3 in the mesangial area; however, the PAS staining of mesangial expansions and mesangial proliferations were not observed. Clinical and histological findings suggested anti-glomerular basement membrane glomerulonephritis with mesangial IgA deposition, suggesting IgA nephropathy, a rare condition.