Abstract

DURAN ALVAREZ, Sandalio  and  CAMPO SANCHEZ, Lisset. IgA nephropathy, the most common glomerulopathy worldwide. Rev Cubana Pediatr [online]. 2015, vol.87, n.3, pp. 353-364. ISSN 1561-3119.

IgA nephropathy is immunocomplex-mediated glomerulonephritis that is characterized by the A1 immunoglobulin deposition in the glomerular mesangium. It is the most frequent form of primary glomerulonephritis worldwide. The probabilities of long-term renal function deterioration increased due to the following findings: blood hypertension, persistent microscopic hematuria, proteinuria greater than 0.5 g/day, decrease of renal function when manifestations or findings of glomerular sclerosis are observed in the renal biopsy; vascular sclerosis, interstitial fibrosis, tubular atrophy, formation or distribution of IgA in the glomerular capillary walls in the immunofluorescence test. Among the clinical manifestations of IgA nephropathy is macroscopic hematuria in roughly half of patients in the first or second day after onset of the respiratory infection symptoms and is associated to flank pain in patients less than 40 years. In the oldest people, macroscopic hematuria is generally asymptomatic and occasionally detected in screening urinalysis. Ten to twenty percent of patients with mild proteinuria and hematuria may reach spontaneous remission, but 25 to 30 % of them may also progress into the terminal chronic renal disease at a general slow rate (5 to 20 years). Renal biopsy is the only specific test to confirm diagnosis. Those patients with hematuria and proteinuria of less than 0.3 g/day, whose blood pressure is normal, do not require specific drug treatment but they need to be systematically controlled through urinalysis, serum creatinine and blood hypertension taking. The patients suffering from proteinuria and hypertension must be strictly treated with converting enzyme inhibitors. Hypertension, significant proteinuria (0.5 g/day), rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis (rare) and nephrotic syndrome must be immediately managed. Tonsillectomy, frequent method in Japan, could be beneficial for those patients presenting with macroscopic hematuria and tonsillitis. Several sources were consulted to make this review.

Keywords : IgA nephropathy; recurrent macroscopic hematuria; persistent hematuria; chronic renal failure.

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