Davis, Justin, Tjipto, Alwie, Hegerty, Katharine, and Mallett, Andrew (2019) An audit of electron microscopy in the diagnosis of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis: are current pathological techniques missing important abnormalities in the glomerular basement membrane? F1000Research, 8. 1204.

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Abstract

Background: There is an increasing appreciation that variants of the collagen IV genes may be associated with the development of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). On electron microscopy, such variants may produce characteristic changes within the glomerular basement membrane (GBM). These changes may be missed if glomerular lesions histologically diagnosed as FSGS on light microscopy are not subjected to electron microscopy.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort analysis of all patients presenting to two hospitals who received a primary histological diagnosis of FSGS to see if these samples underwent subsequent electron microscopy. Each such sample was also scrutinised for the presence of characteristic changes of an underlying collagen IV disorder.

Results: A total of 43 patients were identified. Of these, only 30 underwent electron microscopy. In two samples there were histological changes detected that might have suggested the underlying presence of a collagen IV disorder. Around one in three biopsy samples that had a histological diagnosis of FSGS were not subjected to electron microscopy.

Conclusion: Renal biopsy samples that have a histological diagnosis of primary FSGS not subjected to subsequent electron microscopy may potentially miss ultrastructural changes in the GBM that could signify an underlying collagen IV disorder as the patient’s underlying disease process. This could potentially affect both them and their families’ investigative and management decisions given potential for implications for transplant, heritability and different disease pathogenesis. This represents a gap in care which should be reflected upon and rectified via iterative standard care and unit-level quality assurance initiatives.

Item ID:	67876
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	2046-1402
Copyright Information:	Copyright: © 2019 Davis J et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Date Deposited:	28 Jun 2021 23:34
FoR Codes:	32 BIOMEDICAL AND CLINICAL SCIENCES > 3202 Clinical sciences > 320213 Medical genetics (excl. cancer genetics) @ 60% 32 BIOMEDICAL AND CLINICAL SCIENCES > 3202 Clinical sciences > 320214 Nephrology and urology @ 40%
SEO Codes:	20 HEALTH > 2001 Clinical health > 200105 Treatment of human diseases and conditions @ 100%
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