IgA Nephropathy: Core Curriculum 2021.

Immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) is the most common primary glomerular disease worldwide. The diagnostic histologic hallmark is dominant or codominant IgA staining on kidney biopsy; however, patients may present with various clinical syndromes ranging from asymptomatic abnormalities noted on urinalysis to rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis. Given substantial heterogeneity in the clinical course of disease, online risk calculators are available that may assist in prognostication and inform discussions with patients. Comprehensive supportive treatment is central in the initial therapy of IgAN; the additive benefit of currently available immunosuppressive agents remains an area of controversy. Although proteinuria is attenuated by the use of corticosteroids, the long-term benefits have been questioned, and the use of corticosteroids is associated with severe adverse effects, notably infection. Recent advances in our understanding of mucosal immunity and the role of the complement system in IgAN pathogenesis are leading to development of novel therapeutic options, which are being evaluated in ongoing clinical trials. In this installment of the AJKD Core Curriculum in Nephrology, IgAN pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, histology, prediction tools, and treatment are reviewed, and case examples are presented to illustrate the approach to the management of patients with IgAN.

The performance of a point of care test for detection of anti-mutated citrullinated vimentin and rheumatoid factor in early rheumatoid arthritis.

The purpose of this study was to determine the diagnostic performance of a point-of-care test (POCT) for detection of anti-mutated citrullinated vimentin (anti-MCV) and rheumatoid factor (RF) in early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with 2 years of disease duration or less. Additionally, we evaluated the agreement of these tests when using EDTA whole blood and capillary blood. Patients with RA and other rheumatic disorders were consecutively recruited from the rheumatology outpatient clinic. The POCT for detection of anti-MCV and RF using capillary blood and EDTA whole blood was performed in 78 patients with early RA, 55 patients with other rheumatic disorders, and 55 healthy blood donors. The sensitivity and specificity of anti-MCV POCT in patients with early RA were 64 and 97 %, respectively, while the sensitivity and specificity of RF POCT were 51 and 95 %, respectively. The positive likelihood ratio of the POCT for anti-MCV was higher than those for RF (23.5 vs 9.4). The negative likelihood was 0.37 for anti-MCV and 0.52 for RF. There were three cases with false positive for anti-MCV including a patient with psoriatic arthritis and the other two with systemic sclerosis. The agreement between capillary blood and EDTA whole blood testing for anti-MCV and RF was low to moderate with Cohen's kappa of 0.58 and 0.49, respectively. This POCT for detection of anti-MCV and RF yielded high specificity and may be a valuable tool for the diagnosis of early RA. Using this POCT with EDTA whole blood instead of capillary blood is not recommended.