Thin basement membrane nephropathy and IgA glomerulonephritis: can they be distinguished without renal biopsy?

BACKGROUND: Thin basement membrane nephropathy (TBMN) and IgA glomerulonephritis (IgA gn) are the most common primary glomerular conditions diagnosed on renal biopsy, performed for microscopic haematuria or microscopic haematuria with proteinuria. While up to 50% of patients with IgA gn will develop chronic renal failure, most patients with TBMN enjoy an excellent prognosis. Because TBMN is estimated to occur in up to 1% of the general population, differentiation between the two conditions without resort to renal biopsy is desirable.

METHODS: This retrospective analysis of 248 patients diagnosed on renal biopsy as having either TBMN or IgA gn, sought to identify clinical or biochemical factors which would have enabled confident differentiation between the two conditions to be made without resort to renal biopsy.

RESULTS: No single clinical or pathological variable adequately discriminated between the two conditions. Impaired renal function and heavy proteinuria were highly specific for IgA gn but lacked sensitivity in differentiating from TBMN. Isolated microscopic haematuria (IMH) was a more common finding in patients diagnosed with TBMN but, as a discriminator between TBMN and IgA gn, lacked sufficient specificity. However, if assumptions were made based on the differing incidence of a positive family history between IgA gn and TBMN, then specificity of >99% could be achieved.

CONCLUSION: TBMN and IgA gn cannot be distinguished on the basis of clinical or pathological variables alone. However, in patients with IMH and a positive family history of either IMH or biopsy-proven TBMN, there is usually no need for renal biopsy.