Factors associated with disease severity in adults with acute glomerulonephritis: a descriptive retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Acute glomerulonephritis (AGN) is relatively common and rare in children and adults, respectively. We aimed to describe the clinical characteristics associated with AGN severity in adults using a large-scale database. METHODS: We extracted data regarding patients diagnosed with AGN between January 2001 and December 2023 from a Real World Data database. We performed univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses to evaluate clinical characteristics associated with disease severity in the acute and chronic phases. Additionally, we performed univariable and multivariable modified Poisson regression analysis as a sensitivity analysis. RESULTS: Among 6795 patients diagnosed with AGN, we included 1002 eligible patients. Age, maximum occult blood in dipstick, and maximum proteinuria in dipstick were associated with the occurrence of stage 1 or higher acute kidney injury within 30 days of AGN onset (adjusted odds ratios [95% confidence interval (CI)]: 1.04 [1.03-1.05], 1.24 [1.06-1.45], and 1.61 [1.39-1.87], respectively). Age, maximum proteinuria in dipstick, hypertension, and maximum serum creatinine ≥2 mg/dL were associated with progression of chronic kidney disease at 1 year after AGN onset (adjusted odds ratios [95% CI]: 1.02 [1.01-1.04], 1.86 [1.59-2.19], 1.55 [1.08-2.22], and 3.02 [1.79-5.11], respectively). Similar results were obtained in the sensitivity analysis. CONCLUSION: Our findings describe clinical characteristics associated with disease severity in adults with AGN. These findings should be interpreted as descriptive associations and may contribute to a better understanding of disease severity during hospitalization and follow-up after discharge.