Objective
To study characteristics of lupus nephritis in Jordan and compare our results with other studies.
Patients and Methods
We retrospectively reviewed the medical records and the renal histopathology slides of 74 patients with lupus nephritis seen in Rheumatology department at King Hussein Medical Center in Jordan, over a 14 year period (1996-2009). Sixty nine (93.24%) were females and 5 (6.75%) were males. The median age was 26 year. The indications for renal biopsy were the presence of proteinuria, defined as a 24 hr urinary protein excretion 1 gram and/or the presence of active casts in the urinary sediment. All patients had normal serum creatinine and all fulfilled at least four of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) classification criteria for SLE; the renal biopsy specimens were studied by light and immunofluorescence microscopy.
Results
Diffuse proliferative glomerulonephritis (class IV) was the most frequent histopathologic finding and was seen in 48 (40.1%) patients. The frequencies of other findings were as follows: Class III (n=10, 13.5%), Class V (n =7, 9.5%), Class I (n =6, 8.1%), class II (n=1, 1.3%). All patients were treated with different combination of treatment, 58 (77%) patients had controlled disease on their last evaluation, 11(14%) still having active disease, 4 patients (5.3%) on chronic hemodialysis, one of them had kidney transplant, 2 (2.6%) died due to infection.
Conclusion
Diffuse proliferative GN class IV was the most frequent type of lupus nephritis in this study. The renal biopsy provides important information for the proper diagnosis and management of patients having lupus nephritis. (Rawal Med J 2011:36:31-33).
Key words: Lupus, glomerulonephritis, renal failure.
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