Renal Biopsy

A kidney biopsy is a procedure to remove a small sample of kidney tissue that can be examined under a microscope for signs of injury or disease.

Your doctor may recommend a kidney biopsy (also called a "kidney biopsy") to diagnose a suspected kidney disorder. It could also be used to determine the severity of kidney disease or to monitor kidney disease treatment. You may also need a kidney biopsy if you had a kidney transplant that is not working properly.

Indications
The indications vary according to the criteria of the nephrologists and the clinical characteristics of the patients. Depending on the presenting symptoms, the cost effectiveness of the procedure will differ. Together with the pathological diagnosis, the biopsy should help to establish a prognosis and, sometimes, to assess the results of the treatments. When there is kidney failure and, above all, a decrease in the size of the kidneys, the effectiveness is lower and the risk of bleeding is higher. There are four groups of patients that will clearly benefit from a kidney biopsy which are:
- Patients with nephrotic syndrome (NS).
- Patients with systemic diseases and signs of kidney disease, for evaluation of kidney involvement (systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple myeloma).
- Patients with acute renal failure of unclear cause, especially when a glomerular or microvascular parenchymal cause is suspected.
- Patients with a kidney transplant. The differentiation between acute rejection, acute tubular necrosis, and nephrotoxicity.