2012 Volume 72 Issue 5 Pages 547-552
Background: Recently, attention has been drawn to tonsillectomy and steroid pulse therapy in IgA nephropathy patients. IgA nephropathy and tonsil appear to be related in some way. Further, there are some reports that the tonsils of IgA nephropathy patients show characteristics similar to chronic tonsillitis. Methods: Here, 49 patients diagnosed with IgA nephropathy by renal biopsy underwent tonsillectomy in Fujigaoka Hospital from 2007 to 2008. We analyzed the pathological findings of the tonsils with IgA nephropathy. Results: In our study, characteristic findings of tonsils with IgA nephropathy were found in over half of the cases based on all five factors. However, the relationship between these features of tonsils and the cause of IgA nephropathy could not be clarified. Therefore, further study on tonsils of IgA nephropathy patients is necessary.
