The Clinical Value of Electron Microscopy in Renal Disease

Electron microscopy was performed on biopsy material from 179 patients with a variety of renal diseases. Electron microscopy established or significantly contributed to the diagnosis in 11 patients (6%) for whom light microscopic findings were normal or not definitive. It was most helpful in distinguishing renal vein thrombosis from other causes of membranous glomerulonephritis and in diagnosing tubular necrosis as the cause of acute renal failure and early diabetic glomerulosclerosis as the cause of asymptomatic proteinuria. It did not contribute to the diagnosis or management of the other renal diseases studied. Electron microscopy need not be performed as a routine procedure but it should be available for the occasional occurrence that otherwise defies diagnosis.