Membranous Nephropathy in the Era of COVID-19 and Vaccines: Is There a Story to Tell?

ABSTRACT

Background: Membranous nephropathy is a relatively common glomerular pathology that manifests with either nephrotic or sub-nephrotic range proteinuria. Evidence is emerging of COVID-19 and its vaccines having an influence on various glomerular diseases, including IgA nephropathy and minimal change disease, with limited information on membranous nephropathy. Data from our tertiary centre suggested a rise in cases of membranous nephropathy within a month after vaccination. Method(s) Patients who had renal biopsies in 2021 were identified from pathology results and online clinical records. Information on COVID-19 status, COVID vaccinations and biochemical results were compared. Patients were then split into 2 groups;those presenting within 1 month of vaccination or COVID infection and those who hadn't had vaccinations or a COVID infection within 4 weeks of presentation. Result(s) Complete vaccination and COVID infection history was present in 17 of the 24 patients. Of the 17 patients, 6 were in group 1 and 11 in group 2. 16 out of the 17 patients had nephrotic range proteinuria, 6 also had an AKI at presentation. There was no significant difference in presentation between the groups (see table 1). Conclusion(s) Our data has not conclusively shown a difference between the two groups probably because of the low numbers. But further studies are needed to see if there is a link between either COVID infections or COVID vaccinations and glomerular disease.