Clinicopathological Features of Kidney Biopsy Samples in Patients with Lupus Nephritis in Iran

Saadat Eslami; Haniyeh Malek Mohammadi

doi:10.5530/ijcep.2025.12.3.19

Saadat Eslami Department of Pathology, Shahid Sadoughi Hospital, School of Medicine, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, IRAN.
Haniyeh Malek Mohammadi Faculty of Medicine, Shahid Sadoughi Hospital, School of Medicine, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, IRAN.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5530/ijcep.2025.12.3.19

Keywords: Systemic lupus erythematosus, Clinicopathological, Lupus nephritis

Abstract

Background and Aim: Systemic lupus erythematosus is a chronic autoimmune disease that is more common in women and has recently increased in prevalence. One of its complications is lupus nephritis, which occurs in 50% of patients. This study was conducted with the aim of investigating the clinical pathology of kidneys of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and patients with systemic lupus erythematosus who underwent kidney biopsy between 2015 and 2023. Methods: 116 patients were included in the study. Most of the patients were in the age group of 20 to 40 years and most of them were women. The most common class of involvement was class IV, and the highest activity index and chronic index were also recorded in this class. Results: There was a significant relationship between lupus nephritis class and hematuria. The serum creatinine of patients had a significant relationship with the class of lupus nephritis, and the highest level of creatinine was in class VI and the lowest level was in class II. All patients in our study had proteinuria and it was significantly related to the class of lupus nephritis, and the highest level of proteinuria was in class VI and the lowest in class II. All classes of lupus nephritis showed a decrease in C3 compared to the normal range. C4 and CH50 had a significant relationship with the class of lupus nephritis. Anemia was significantly related to the class of lupus nephritis, and the highest prevalence of anemia was in class IV. Conclusion: Most patients were women aged 20-40 years. Class IV was the most common type of lupus nephritis and showed the highest activity and chronicity indices. Lupus nephritis class demonstrated significant relationships with hematuria, serum creatinine, proteinuria, complement levels, and anemia. The highest creatinine and proteinuria levels were observed in class VI, while the greatest prevalence of anemia and the greatest decrease in C3 were seen in class IV.