Clinicopathologic correlations of Henoch-Schönlein nephritis in Turkish children

Background: In this study, 66 patients with Henoch–Schönlein nephritis (HSN) were investigated clinicopathologically. Methods: The patients were classified according to their initial presentation, histologic findings, recurrences of purpura, type of treatment and clinical outcome. Logistic regression analysis was performed. Results: Sixty‐eight percent of patients were hospitalized with mild renal disease. Most patients were evaluated as class I and II according to light microscopy. In addition to IgA deposition alone, 33% of patients showed IgA+C3 and 27% had IgA+IgG+C3 depositions. After the follow‐up period of 3.3 years, 15 patients had minor urinary findings, 4 had active renal disease and 1 had renal insufficiency. Recurrences occurred in 37.9% of patients and 37.1% of patients with recurrences had persistent pathologic findings. Symptomatic treatment was given to 51.5% of patients, while 27.2% were given corticotherapy. Conclusions: Clinical presentation was found to be correlated with outcome. Recurrence of the disease and the type of the treatment also affected the outcome. It was also thought that mesangial IgG and C3 depositions may have a role in the pathogenesis of renal damage in HSN.