Abstract
A prospective study of renal function was undertaken on an unselected group of 8 children with chronic progressive liver disease on whom a renal biopsy was performed subsequently at the time of orthotopic liver transplantation. Two patients had abnormal urinalyses and 2 elevated urinary albumin/creatinine ratios. The remainder had no clinical evidence of renal dysfunction. All had normal serum creatinine concentrations. Glomerular abnormalities were present in all renal biopsies and were of two types: hepatic glomerulosclerosis (n=5) and minor glomerular abnormalities (n=3). IgM immunofluorescence was present in all biopsies and IgA in 6. Elevated serum immunoglobulin levels were observed in all patients, with IgM elevation in 6, IgA in 4 and IgG in 6. C3 and/or C4 were reduced in 5 patients and increased circulating immune complexes containing IgM were noted in 4. The clinical significance of these cirrhosis-associated glomerular abnormalities can only be established by long-term follow-up studies after orthotopic liver transplantation.
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Chin, S.E., Axelsen, R.A., Crawford, D.H.G. et al. Glomerular abnormalities in children undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation. Pediatr Nephrol 6, 407–411 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00873994
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00873994