OBJECTIVETo study the relationship of cystatin C (CysC), fibrinogen (Fbg), and 24-hour urinary protein with renal pathological grade in children with Henoch-Schönlein purpura nephritis (HSPN), and to explore their values.

METHODSThe clinical data of 48 children diagnosed with HSPN by renal biopsy from January 2011 to January 2015 were reviewed. According to renal pathological grading, in the 48 children with HSPN, 12 had stage IIa or lower, 12 stage IIb, 17 stage IIIa, and 7 stage IIIb or higher. The latex-enhanced immunoturbidimetric assay, turbidimetric measurement, and end-point method were used to determine the levels of serum CysC, Fbg, and 24-hour urinary protein, respectively. Pearson and Spearman correlation analyses were used to test the correlations between the indices and between the indices and renal pathological grade.

RESULTSThere were significant differences in the levels of serum CysC, Fbg, and 24-hour urinary protein between patients with different pathological grades (P<0.05). The level of each index increased with increasing pathological grade (P<0.05). In the 48 children with HSPN, the level of 24-hour urine protein was positively correlated with the levels of serum CysC (r=0.51, P<0.05) and Fbg (r=0.63, P<0.05). The level of Fbg was positively correlated with that of serum CysC (r=0.55, P<0.05). The levels of CysC, Fbg, and 24-hour urinary protein were all positively correlated with renal pathological grade (r=0.66, 0.64 and 0.68; respectively, P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONSThe levels of CysC, Fbg, and 24-hour urine protein can reflect the severity of renal injury, providing satisfactory prediction of the severity of renal injury in children with HSPN.