ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Henoch Schonlein Purpura is the most frequent vasculitis in children. Renal involvement is variable. Renal manifestations vary from isolated microscopic hematuria to the association on nephrotic syndrome to nephritic syndrome. AIM: To determine the predictors of severe Henoch - Schönlein nephritis. METHODS: Retrospective study over 15 years (1996-2010) of 34 chidren, with henoch-schonlein nephritis. RESULTS: Renal involvement was determined in 68.7%. Mean age was 7.23 years (3-14 years). Renal manifestations were variable. Moderate renal manifestations were noted in 15 cases. Microscopic hematuria was observed in 23.5% of cases and moderate proteinuria with or without hematuria is noted in 20.5% of cases. Severe nephritis was noted in 18 cases: nephrotic syndrome in 29.5 % and nephrotic syndrome associated to nephritic syndrome in 23.5%. Hypertension without urinary anomalies was observed in one case. In univariate analysis, factor predictive of severe nephritis were: male sex, macroscopic hematuria, biologic inflammatory syndrome and leukocytosis. In multivariate analysis, only the leukocytosis was predictor of severity. CONCLUSION: In our study, only leukocytosis was predictor of severity in henoch-schönlein nephritis.
