The incidence and severity of IgA vasculitis with nephritis over a 10-year period in our hospital.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the recent frequency of onset and severity of IgA vasculitis with nephritis (IgAVN) in Fukushima Prefecture, we examined the epidemiology and clinico-pathological manifestations of IgAVN in our hospital over a 10-year period.

METHODS: We enrolled 18 patients with IgAVN treated between 2004 and 2013 in the Department of Pediatrics, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine. These patients were divided into two groups; Group 1 consisted of 12 patients with IgAVN hospitalized between 2004 and 2008 and Group 2 consisted of 6 patients with IgAVN hospitalized between 2009 and 2013. The epidemiology, clinical features, laboratory data, pathological findings, and outcome were retrospectively compared between the two groups.

RESULTS: The numbers of patients with IgAVN per year in Group 2 were lower than that in Group 1. The frequency of patients with higher than grade IIIb disease in Group 2 (50%) was lower than that in Group 1 (94%); furthermore, the frequency of patients with higher than grade IV disease in Group 2 (0%) was lower than that in Group 1 (50%).

CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that the incidence of onset and severity of IgAVN in patients diagnosed between 2009 and 2013 were lower than those in patients diagnosed between 2004 and 2008.