indications
Last reviewed 01/2018
Biopsy may assist in:
- establishing a diagnosis
- the planning of treatment and monitoring of its effect
- assessing prognosis
Indications include:
- persistent proteinuria or haematuria that is associated with renal impairment, for example, as assessed by GFR
- nephrotic syndrome in patients less than 1 year or above 10 years of age - for children of intermediate age, the cause is most likely to be minimal change nephropathy; as this responds to steroid treatment, the risks of biopsy are thought to outweigh the likely benefits of treatment
- acute renal failure that persists for more than 4 weeks without any active markers of intrinsic renal disease
- chronic renal failure with normal sized kidneys
- the investigation of systemic disorders that affect the kidneys, for example, amyloidosis or systemic lupus erythematosus
- renal allograft dysfunction