GLOMERULONEPHRITIS-INVESTIGATIONS

SUMMARY

1. Achieve definitive diagnosis of all glomerular diseases with a renal biopsy, though typical diabetic nephropathy is almost always diagnosed clinically.

2. Haematuria with proteinuria, dysmorphic red cells, and/or RBC casts is likely to be of glomerular origin.

3. Non-renal hematuria could be caused by malignancies in the urinary tract (bladder cancer), kidney stones, or urinary tract infections.

4. Patients with sickle cell trait may also have isolated hematuria.

5. Red cell casts are definitive for GN.

Reference(s)

Wilkinson, I., Furmedge, D. and Sinharay, R. (2017). Oxford handbook of clinical medicine. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Get it on Amazon.
Feather, A., Randall, D. and Waterhouse, M. (2020). Kumar And Clark’s Clinical Medicine. 10th ed. S.L.: Elsevier Health Sciences. Get it on Amazon.
Hannaman, R. A., Bullock, L., Hatchell, C. A., & Yoffe, M. (2016). Internal medicine review core curriculum, 2017-2018. CO Springs, CO: MedStudy.
Therapeutic Guidelines. Melbourne: Therapeutic Guidelines Limited. https://www.tg.org.au [Accessed 2021].