Renal Hypoplasia: Clinical features and survival

Abstract

Clinical data are given on 76 subjects, predominantly women, with a unilaterally small or focally hypoplastic kidney. in the material as a whole, hypertension was very frequent, all men and about 75% of the women being hypertensive. A history of signs of toxemia during pregnancy was common. the frequency of urinary tract infections was analyzed. About 20% of the men and 40% of the women showed signs of infection at examination. It appeared, however, that hypertension—not urinary tract infection—was the most dangerous feature. Hypoplasia was present as frequently in the left as in the right kidney. Seventeen cases with radiological changes corresponding to those described by Ask-Upmark on autopsy material are presented. Some data from a follow-up study of the material as well as an analysis of the causes of death in the material are given. the difficulty in making a sharp delineation between the congenitally hypoplastic kidney and a small kidney subsequent to pyelonephritic shrinkage is emphasized.