Glomerulonephritis

Glomerulonephritis (GN) is often part of a multisystem disorder.

Oedema and hypertension are signs of severe or chronic disease.

A kidney biopsy is the test for definitive diagnosis, although it is not required in all patients.

Treating the underlying disorder and managing hypertension and proteinuria is the mainstay of therapy.

Some patients may eventually need dialysis or transplant.

Regular, and sometimes frequent, monitoring of renal function is critical.

GN denotes glomerular injury and applies to a group of diseases that are generally, but not always, characterised by inflammatory changes in the glomerular capillaries and the glomerular basement membrane (GBM). The injury can involve a part or all of the glomeruli or the glomerular tuft. The most common GNs are immune mediated.[1]Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) Glomerular Diseases Work Group. KDIGO 2021 Clinical practice guideline for the management of glomerular diseases. Kidney Int. 2021 Oct;100(4s):S1-276. https://www.kidney-international.org/article/S0085-2538(21)00562-7/fulltext http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34556256?tool=bestpractice.com Diseases include membranous GN, minimal change disease, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, immunoglobulin A nephropathy, forms of rapidly progressive GN (vasculitis and anti-GBM disease), and lupus nephritis as the more common forms.

See:

• Membranous nephropathy

• Minimal change disease

• Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis

• IgA nephropathy

• Goodpasture's disease

• Granulomatosis with polyangiitis

• Systemic lupus erythematosus.