Thin-Basement-Membrane Nephropathy in Adults with Persistent Hematuria

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Abstract
Thin-basement-membrane nephropathy, also called benign recurrent hematuria, is characterized by diffuse thinning of the glomerular basement membrane and by hematuria. To determine the incidence of thin-basement-membrane nephropathy among patients with idiopathic hematuria, we conducted a prospective study in the nephrology units of three large hospitals in the Netherlands. Eighty normotensive adults without azotemia underwent renal biopsy because of recurrent macroscopic hematuria (n = 26) or persistent microscopic hematuria (n = 54). Idiopathic IgA nephropathy was found in 27 of the 80 patients. Light microscopical examination showed that 42 patients had normal renal tissue. The remaining 11 patients had mesangioproliferative glomerulonephritis (n = 5), interstitial nephritis (n = 3), or focal global glomerulosclerosis (n = 3).