Renal disease in the elderly: etiology and evolution of 24 cases

ABSTRACT

We retrospectively analyzed the histological data, clinical presentations, and outcome of 24 patients aged 60 years or older at the initial evaluation for renal disease. The study setting was a referral-based nephrology clinic at a tertiary care center. Twenty-three out of the 24 patients had a mean follow-up of 16 months (range 3-48). Their mean age was 65 years (range 60-75). The most common histological diagnoses were crescentic glomerulonephritis (GN) (n = 4), membranoproliferative GN (n = 4), diffuse endocapillary proliferative GN (n = 3), and minimal change (n = 3). Clinical presentation included renal insufficiency in 16 patients, the nephrotic syndrome in 8 patients (associated in 4 with decreased renal function), and hematuria with subnephrotic rang proteinuria in 4 cases. Ten out of the 23 patients developed end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Median serum creatinine at presentation in the group that developed ESRD was significantly higher than in the group that did not develop ESRD (490 vs 270 mumol/l; p < 0.05). Seven patients died, 5 of whom had developed ESRD. A variety of renal diseases affect the kidneys of the elderly; prognosis was unfavorable in about half of the patients in this series. Larger prospective studies are needed to clarify the natural history of GN in the elderly.