Collapsing Glomerulopathy: A Review by the Collapsing Brazilian Consortium.

Collapsing glomerulopathy (CG) is a clinicopathologic entity characterized by segmentar or global collapse of the glomerulus and hypertrophy and hyperplasia of podocytes. The Columbia classification of 2004 classified CG as a histological subtype of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). A growing number of studies have demonstrated a high prevalence of CG in many countries, especially among populations with a higher proportion of people with African descent. The present study is a narrative review of articles extracted from PubMed, Medline, and Scielo databases from September 1, 2020 to December 31, 2021. We have focused on populational studies (specially cross-sectional and cohort articles). CG is defined as a podocytopathy with a distinct pathogenesis characterized by strong podocyte proliferative activity. The most significant risk factors for CG include APOL1 gene mutations and infections with human immunodeficiency virus and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. CG typically presents with more severe symptoms and greater renal damage. The prognosis is notably worse than that of other FSGS subtypes.

Chikungunya virus as a trigger for different renal disorders: an exploratory study.

INTRODUCTION: Chikungunya virus was detected in cases of acute chikungunya fever in renal tissue. However, chikungunya virus-related kidney injury still lacks characterization, and it is unknown whether the kidneys are reservoirs for the virus. We sought to detect histopathological changes and viral antigens in renal tissue, and to evaluate kidney injury markers in different phases of chikungunya fever. METHODS: Two groups were evaluated in this exploratory study: patients with biopsy-proven kidney injury established after chikungunya fever, and patients with post-chikungunya fever chronic joint manifestations without known kidney injury, in whom we actively searched for kidney injury markers. RESULTS: In the first group, 15 patients had kidney injury 0.5-24 months after chikungunya fever. The most frequent histopathological diagnoses were glomerular lesions. No viral antigens were detected in renal tissue. High-risk genotypes were detected in patients with atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome and focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis. In the second group, 114 patients had post-chikungunya fever joint manifestations on average for 35.6 months. Mean creatinine and proteinuria were 0.9 mg/dl and 71.5 mg/day, respectively. One patient had isolated hematuria. There was no indication for renal biopsy in this group. CONCLUSIONS: Several histopathological features were found after chikungunya fever, without virus detection in renal tissue. These findings suggest that chikungunya virus may trigger kidney lesions with varying degrees of severity at different stages of infection. However, the probability that this virus replicates in the renal tissue seems unlikely.

Coordenação de cuidados primários para o paciente com doença renal crônica em diálise: revisitando papéis / Coordination of primary care for patients with chronic kidney disease on dialysis: revisiting roles

O número de pessoas em diálise tem aumentado de maneira significativa nos últimos anos. Essas pessoas são, em geral, portadoras de condições crônicas múltiplas e complexas, e a coordenação do seu cuidado torna-se um desafio. O presente artigo objetiva sintetizar os resultados da literatura a respeito da coordenação do cuidado e dos cuidados primários ofertados ao paciente em diálise. Trata-se de uma revisão integrativa que teve como fontes de dados publicações disponíveis nas bases: LILACS, SciELO e PubMed. Foram identificados 16 artigos publicados entre 1992 e 2020. A partir da análise temática, evidenciaram-se cinco áreas: vínculo das pessoas em diálise com a Atenção Primária à Saúde (APS) e com o médico da família e comunidade (MFC); percepção dos profissionais quanto a seus papéis e habilidades; percepção das pessoas a respeito dos papéis e habilidades dos profissionais; cuidados primários (CP) prestados por nefrologistas e MFC; e impacto da APS na mortalidade, hospitalização e qualidade de vida. Os resultados sugerem que o nefrologista tem assumido o papel de coordenador do cuidado e de principal provedor de CP à pessoa em diálise. Todavia, isso não significa queos cuidados oferecidos sejam adequados às necessidades do paciente, devendo o MFC estar cada vez mais envolvido com esse cuidado, o que tem sido gradualmente observado nos últimos anos.

The number of patients on dialysis has increased significantly in recent years. These patients are, in general, carriers of multiple and complex chronic conditions, and the coordination of their care becomes a challenge. This article aims to summarize the results of the literature regarding the coordination of care for dialysis patients. This is an integrative review based on data published and available in the databases: LILACS, SciELO, and PubMed. 16 articles published between 1992 and 2020 were identified. Based on the thematic analysis, five areas were highlighted: linkage of patients with primary health care (PHC) and with the family and community physician (FCF); professionals' perception of their roles and skills; patients' perception of the professionals' roles and skills; primary care delivered by nephrologists and FCF; and the impact of PHC on mortality, hospitalization, and quality of life. The results suggest that nephrologists have assumed the role of care coordinators and main providers of primary care for dialysis patients. However, this does not mean that the care offered is adequate for the patient's needs, and the FCF should be increasingly involved with this care, which indeed began to gradually occur in recent years.

Brazilian Consortium for the Study on Renal Diseases Associated With COVID-19: A Multicentric Effort to Understand SARS-CoV-2-Related Nephropathy.

Kidney involvement appears to be frequent in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Despite this, information concerning renal involvement in COVID-19 is still scarce. Several mechanisms appear to be involved in the complex relationship between the virus and the kidney. Also, different morphological patterns have been described in the kidneys of patients with COVID-19. For some authors, however, this association may be just a coincidence. To investigate this issue, we propose assessing renal morphology associated with COVID-19 at the renal pathology reference center of federal university hospitals in Brazil. Data will come from a consortium involving 17 federal university hospitals belonging to Empresa Brasileira de Serviços Hospitalares (EBSERH) network, as well as some state hospitals and an autopsy center. All biopsies will be sent to the referral center for renal pathology of the EBSERH network. The data will include patients who had coronavirus disease, both alive and deceased, with or without pre-existing kidney disease. Kidney biopsies will be analyzed by light, fluorescence, and electron microscopy. Furthermore, immunohistochemical (IHC) staining for various inflammatory cells (i.e., cells expressing CD3, CD20, CD4, CD8, CD138, CD68, and CD57) as well as angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) will be performed on paraffinized tissue sections. In addition to ultrastructural assays, in situ hybridization (ISH), IHC and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) will be used to detect Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) in renal tissue. For the patients diagnosed with Collapsing Glomerulopathy, peripheral blood will be collected for apolipoprotein L-1 (APOL1) genotyping. For patients with thrombotic microangiopathy, thrombospondin type 1 motif, member 13 (ADAMTS13), antiphospholipid, and complement panel will be performed. The setting of this study is Brazil, which is second behind the United States in highest confirmed cases and deaths. With this complete approach, we hope to help define the spectrum and impact, whether immediate or long-term, of kidney injury caused by SARS-CoV-2.