title: Renal biopsy in patients aged 80 years and older: a single-center experience in Japan.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is a paucity of data on renal biopsy in a large number of the very elderly (age ≥ 80 years) worldwide.
  
  
  METHODS
  Clinicopathological features in 73 patients aged ≥ 80 years were evaluated and compared with control groups of 172 patients aged 60 - 61 years and 128 patients aged 70 - 71 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The common indications for biopsy in the very elderly were nephrotic syndrome (NS), followed by proteinuria without NS and/or hematuria, and acute kidney injury (AKI). Histological diagnoses were considered to potentially modify treatment in 57 cases (78.1%): the most frequent diagnosis was membranous nephropathy, followed by minimal change disease, and various other diseases. There were no biopsy procedure-related serious complications. Clinical assessment of treatments was evaluated in 38 of 54 patients with AKI and/or NS. Improvement in renal dysfunction or NS was observed in 24 of 30 (80%) patients who received immunosuppressive therapy. There were statistically significant differences in the disease spectrum between the very elderly and control groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is the first report of renal biopsy findings in a relatively large number of Japanese very elderly patients. Histological observations are useful aids in estimating the prognosis and therapy selection for renal disorders, even in the very elderly.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, Akita University Graduate School of Medicine, Akita, Japan. aomokawa@doc.med.akita-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Ayumi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Omokawa
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Komatsuda
authors.forename: Mizuho
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nara
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fujiwara
authors.forename: Ryuta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Masaru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Togashi
authors.forename: Shin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Okuyama
authors.forename: Ken-Ichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sawada
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wakui
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001707:Biopsy, Needle / Q000009:adverse effects; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D007668:Kidney / Q000473:pathology*; D007674:Kidney Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies