Indications

Biopsy may assist in:

• establishing a diagnosis
• the planning of treatment and monitoring of its effect
• assessing prognosis

Indications include:

• persistent proteinuria or haematuria that is associated with renal impairment, for example, as assessed by GFR
  
  
• nephrotic syndrome in patients less than 1 year or above 10 years of age - for children of intermediate age, the cause is most likely to be minimal change nephropathy; as this responds to steroid treatment, the risks of biopsy are thought to outweigh the likely benefits of treatment
  
  
• acute renal failure that persists for more than 4 weeks without any active markers of intrinsic renal disease
  
  
• chronic renal failure with normal sized kidneys
  
  
• the investigation of systemic disorders that affect the kidneys, for example, amyloidosis or systemic lupus erythematosus
  
  
• renal allograft dysfunction