A frozen-section report on a donor kidney is read by a transplant surgeon deciding at speed. State the sample adequacy — number of glomeruli, and whether arteries are present — alongside the percentage of sclerosed glomeruli and the degree of arteriosclerosis. A 15% glomerulosclerosis from eight glomeruli is a very different statement from the same figure from forty, and the report should make that plain.
- Always state the number of glomeruli and whether an artery was sampled.
- Note when a wedge biopsy may over-represent subcapsular sclerosis.
- Use a standard scoring scheme so findings can be combined with donor clinical scores.
Why it matters
An under-sampled biopsy presented as a precise percentage can cost a usable kidney.
Read the rest in the app
You have read your two free briefings this month. The app carries all 27 specialties, every morning, free — and this finding is waiting in it.
Scan to keep reading on your phone. No account needed to start.
Tomorrow morning, before your first patient
One edition a day for pathology, written by the desk, every claim tied to its paper. Six minutes.
Get the app — free