Objective: To assess clinical presentation, diagnostic difficulties, natural history and prognostic indicators of renal involvement of Henoch Schönlein Purpura, a ten-years retrospective analysis of all patients case records was performed.
Methods: After a variable interval of 1 to 10 years following the vasculitic episode all the children came to the outpatient clinic for history taking, clinical examination, blood pressure measurements, urine analysis and renal function assessment.
Results: 54 children, mean age 5.9 +/- 2.5, were identified. The purpuric rash was associated with arthritis in 46 patients (85%), abdominal pain in 28 (51.8%), temperature > 38 degrees C in 11 (20%). The purpuric rash was present at on presentation in 39 subjects (72%) whereas in 15 children (28%) it followed the subsequent signs or symptoms that were arthritis in 8 (53.3%), joint pain in 2 (13.3%), abdominal pain in 5 (30.3%). Abdominal pain was the only symptom of presentation in 5 patients; two of them underwent surgical laparotomy.