Clinicopathological Features of Gitelman Syndrome with Proteinuria and Renal Dysfunction.

Introduction: Gitelman syndrome (GS) is a rare renal tubular salt-wasting disorder. Besides kidney electrolyte loss, proteinuria and renal dysfunction were also observed. However, their incidence, risk factors, pathological features, and prognosis were unclear.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 116 GS patients and analyzed their clinical, genetic, and pathological characteristics. We also systematically reviewed articles on GS with proteinuria and renal dysfunction.

Results: Twenty-three GS patients had proteinuria (69.6%) and renal dysfunction (43.5%) with a mean age of 35.3 ± 13.2 years, and 65.2% were male. Compared to patients without proteinuria or renal dysfunction, these patients had elevated plasma angiotensin II level (440.2 ± 351.7 vs. 253.2 ± 187.4 pg/mL, p = 0.031) and three times higher incidence of diabetes. The renal pathology of nine biopsied patients indicated hypertrophy of the juxtaglomerular apparatus (100%), chronic tubulointerstitial changes (66.7%), intrarenal vascular changes (66.7%), and glomerulopathy (55.6%). More extensive renin staining was observed in patients with GS than in the control group with glomerular minor lesion (p < 0.001). During a median of 85 months (range, 11-205 months) of follow-up for 19 out of the 23 GS-renal patients, the renal function was generally stable, except one died of cancer and one developed end-stage renal disease because of concomitant membranous nephropathy and IgA nephropathy.

Conclusion: Proteinuria and renal dysfunction were more common than expected and might indicate glomerulopathy and vascular lesions besides a tubulointerstitial injury in GS. Renal function may maintain stable with effective therapy in most cases.