Glomerular Hyperfiltration and Microalbuminuria in Adult and Adolescent Patients with Sickle Cell Anaemia in Kano, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Sickle Cell Nephropathy is emerging as one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality across all age groups. Renal involvement begins early in life and is often characterised by glomerular hyperfiltration, reflected by elevated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and the development of microalbuminuria, an early marker of glomerular injury. This study aims to determine the relationship between microalbuminuria and hyperfiltration as determined by estimated glomerular filtration rate among adolescent and adult SCA patients. Method: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study on 204 adolescent and adult SCA patients attending the haematology clinic of AKTH. Clinical data was obtained with interviewer administered questionnaire. Blood samples were taken for biochemical analysis. Spot urine was used to quantitatively determine albumin to Creatinine ratio. Data collected was collated and analyzed using statistical package for social services (SPSS) version 22.0. P-value <0.05 was considered significant. Results: 204 study participants aged 14-40 years (mean 19.6±5) were recruited from the study. Majority (64.2%) of the participants were females. A total of 29(14.2%) participants had microalbuminuria. There was no statistically significant association between hyperfiltration and the development of microalbuminuria in this study (p>0.05). Conclusion: This study documents a relatively high prevalence of microalbuminuria of 14.2% with a significant number of the participants having hyperfiltration. However, no significant association was found between microalbuminuria and hyperfiltration. Screening SCA patients for microalbuminuria and eGFR should be part of the routine standard of care in SCA patients to improve their quality of life and life expectancy.