title: Sarcoidosis in native and transplanted kidneys: incidence, pathologic findings, and clinical course.
abstract: Renal involvement by sarcoidosis in native and transplanted kidneys classically presents as non caseating granulomatous interstitial nephritis. However, the incidence of sarcoidosis in native and transplant kidney biopsies, its frequency as a cause of end stage renal disease and its recurrence in renal allograft are not well defined, which prompted this study. The electronic medical records and the pathology findings in native and transplant kidney biopsies reviewed at the Johns Hopkins Hospital from 1/1/2000 to 6/30/2011 were searched. A total of 51 patients with a diagnosis of sarcoidosis and renal abnormalities requiring a native kidney biopsy were identified. Granulomatous interstitial nephritis, consistent with renal sarcoidosis was identified in kidney biopsies from 19 of these subjects (37%). This is equivalent to a frequency of 0.18% of this diagnosis in a total of 10,023 biopsies from native kidney reviewed at our institution. Follow-up information was available in 10 patients with biopsy-proven renal sarcoidosis: 6 responded to treatment with prednisone, one progressed to end stage renal disease. Renal sarcoidosis was the primary cause of end stage renal disease in only 2 out of 2,331 transplants performed. Only one biopsy-proven recurrence of sarcoidosis granulomatous interstitial nephritis was identified.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Renal involvement by sarcoidosis in the form of granulomatous interstitial nephritis was a rare finding in biopsies from native kidneys reviewed at our center, and was found to be a rare cause of end stage renal disease. However, our observations indicate that recurrence of sarcoid granulomatous inflammation may occur in the transplanted kidney of patients with sarcoidosis as the original kidney disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America.
authors.forename: Serena M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Bagnasco
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America.
authors.forename: Srinivas
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gottipati
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America.
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kraus
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America.
authors.forename: Nada
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Alachkar
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America.
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Montgomery
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America.
authors.forename: Lorraine C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Racusen
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America.
authors.forename: Lois J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Arend
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001706:Biopsy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000473:pathology*; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D016030:Kidney Transplantation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009395:Nephritis, Interstitial / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012507:Sarcoidosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology