title: Patterns of renal disease in Cape Town South Africa: a 10-year review of a single-centre renal biopsy database.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The patterns of glomerular diseases have been widely reported from different regional and national biopsy registries worldwide. However, there are scant studies on the epidemiology of biopsy-proven renal disease, particularly glomerular diseases in sub-Saharan Africa.
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrospectively analysed the reports of 1284 native renal biopsies, reviewed by the same pathologist and performed at the Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2009.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean age of all the patients biopsied was 36.8 ± 14.0 years with 61.8% of the patients being under 40 years of age. There was a preponderance of females (54.8%). There were more coloured patients (53.7%) than blacks (42.2%) or whites (3.9%). The frequencies of clinical indications for a renal biopsy were nephrotic range proteinuria (52.5%), acute renal failure (21.3%), asymptomatic urinary abnormalities (13.6%), chronic renal failure (6.4%), acute nephritic syndrome (5.8%) and haematuria (0.3%). The frequencies of the primary glomerulonephritis (GN) include mesangiocapillary GN (20.4%), mesangial proliferative GN (19.2%), membranous GN (18.5%), crescentic and necrotizing GN (11.4%), focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis (10.5%), post-infectious GN (8.2%), minimal change disease (6.0%) and IgA nephropathy (5.8%). Lupus nephritis was the most frequent secondary glomerular disease (39.0%) and was also the most frequent cause of the nephrotic range proteinuria (17.2%). HIV-associated nephropathy increased from 6.6% in 2000 to 25.7% in 2009 (P < 0.0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data are an important contribution to the epidemiology of renal disease in Africa. We hope that this will form the basis for developing a renal biopsy registry in South Africa and across the continent.
authors.affiliation: Division of Nephrology and Hypertension, Groote Schuur Hospital and University of Cape Town, Observatory, 7925, Cape Town, South Africa. Ikechi.Okpechi@uct.ac.za
authors.forename: Ikechi
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Okpechi
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Swanepoel
authors.forename: Maureen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Duffield
authors.forename: Bonginkosi
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mahala
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wearne
authors.forename: Stella
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Alagbe
authors.forename: Zunaid
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Barday
authors.forename: Craig
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Arendse
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rayner
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001706:Biopsy; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007674:Kidney Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013019:South Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D013997:Time Factors