High prevalence of undiagnosed chronic kidney disease among at-risk population in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo

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HIV-Associated immune complex glomerulonephritis with "lupus-like" features

Renal structural abnormalities in HIV/AIDS infected patients have been infrequently and incompletely reported in patients from sub-Saharan Africa. We report an immune complex glomerulonephritis with "lupus-like" features in a ten-year-old HIV+ boy who was evaluated at the University Hospital of Kinshasa. The light microscopic examination of the renal biopsy displayed a predominantly membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis with prominent focal segmental necrotizing injury, numerous wire-loops, and a spiky membranous nephropathy. In addition, there were prominent tubular injury, microcysts filled with periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) positive casts, edema and an inflammatory infiltrate of the interstitium, features of a classic HIV-associated nephropathy (HIVAN). Electron microscopy revealed large subendothelial, intra-membranous, subepithelial and mesangial deposits. The combination of these findings, while being consistent with lupus nephritis WHO grade IV/V, the tubulointerstitial HIVAN-like changes and the absence of clinical evidence of lupus disease favored an HIV-associated immune complex glomerulonephritis with "lupus-like features"

Black water fever associated with acute renal failure among Congolese children in Kinshasa

Acute renal failure (ARF) is reported in some severe forms of malaria such as black water fever (BWF). It is associated with a high mortality rate and can be managed effectively with adequate renal replacement. A prospective survey of children with dark urine after a malarial infection with Plasmodium falciparum was coupled with a chart review study of patients managed in the past 11 years in the Pediatrics′ Kinshasa University Hospital. Eighty-nine cases of ARF were identified, but data from only 63 patients were available, of whom 44 (69.8%) had severe malaria (39 with BWF and 5 with cerebral malaria). The mean age of the patients was 8.2 ± 1.73 years. Of the 39 cases of BWF, an association with quinine ingestion was observed in 32 children (82%). Urea and creatinine levels were elevated in all cases (135.4 ± 88.2 and 3.83 ± 2.81 mg/dL, respectively). Oligo-anuria was observed in 44.4%, severe metabolic acidosis (bicarbonate <15 mEq/L) in 61.5% and hyponatremia (<130 mEq/L) in 33.3%. Peritoneal dialysis was required in 36 patients, including 20 with BWF. The remaining patients were managed with conservative treatment. Twenty-eight children (44.4%), including 20 on dialysis, fully recovered and 14 died (22.2%), including eight cases of BWF. Our study suggests that ARF is commonly associated with BWF in Congolese children. Elevated urea and creatinine and severe metabolic acidosis were observed more often than other clinical/metabolic disturbances. Severe renal impairment remains a significant complication with a high mortality rate in low-resource settings

First Case of COVID-19-Associated Collapsing Glomerulopathy in Sub-Saharan Africa

Although the lungs remain the main target of SARS-CoV-2, other organs, such as kidneys, can be affected, which has a negative impact on the outcomes of COVID-19 patients. Although previous studies of kidney disease in COVID-19 reported mainly SARS-CoV-2-induced tubular and interstitial injury, there is growing evidence coming out of Africa of glomerular involvement, especially collapsing glomerulopathy seen particularly in people of African descent. We report a case of collapsing glomerulopathy revealed by acute kidney injury and a new onset of full blown nephrotic syndrome in a black Congolese patient coinfected with COVID-19 and malaria

G1 is the major APOL1 risk allele for hypertension-attributed nephropathy in Central Africa.

peer reviewedBackground: Sub-Saharan Africans exhibit a higher frequency of chronic kidney disease (CKD) than other populations. In this study, we sought to determine the frequency of apolipoprotein L1 (APOL1) genotypes in hypertension-attributed CKD in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Methods: We performed a case-control study identifying 162 subjects: 79 with hypertension-attributed CKD and 83 controls living in Kinshasa who were genotyped for APOL1 risk variants between July 2013 and November 2016. We selected control subjects from the general population and matched them with the cases according to age. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between APOL1 high-risk genotypes and CKD. Results: The frequencies of the APOL1 G1 and G2 alleles were 19.1 and 7.1%, respectively. The number of individuals with the G1 and G2 risk alleles was significantly higher in the CKD group (12.7%) than in the control group (2.4%), particularly in individuals with end-stage kidney disease (14.3%). Subjects carrying two risk alleles was strongly and independently associated with hypertension-attributed nephropathy, with an adjusted odds ratio of 7.7 (95% confidence interval 1.5-39.7; P = 0.014). The high-risk APOL1 genotypes were G1/G1 and G1/G2, whereas G2/G2 was not found in the study population. Conclusions: The results of this study demonstrate the association of high-risk APOL1 genotypes with kidney disease in Kinshasa. The absence of G2/G2 may be consistent with powerful selective sweeps induced by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense infection. In contrast, the presence of APOL1 G2/G2 among individuals of African ancestry in the USA may indicate relaxation of natural selection in a trypanosome-free environment