Can smartphone cameras help with diagnostic adequacy in renal biopsy?

Background: In this prospective study, we evaluated whether a sufficient number of glomeruli were achieved using the 8× magnification of smartphone cameras.

Purpose: To increase the percutaneous ultrasound-guided renal biopsy (PURB) diagnostic value with a method that has not been tried before and reduce the need for repetition of the procedure.

Material and methods: A total of 39 adult patients who underwent PURB were included in our study. After the PURB was applied to the patients, the biopsy specimen was placed on the previously prepared sterile gauze. At this stage, 8× magnification photos were taken of the biopsy samples using the smartphone camera. The glomeruli in the photograph were counted and recorded and compared with the number of glomeruli seen at the end of the histopathological examination.

Results: The mean number of glomeruli in the evaluated samples was counted as 6 ± 2.2 (range = 1-10) in the 8× magnification photograph. The mean number of glomeruli detected in the histopathological examination of these samples was 11 ± 5.7 (range = 2-30). A pathological glomeruli count of 10 was associated with more than five brown spots in the 8× magnification photograph (area under the curve = 0.977, P=0.0001).

Conclusion: To obtain more than 10 glomeruli in a PURB specimen, five or more brownish-red dots should be counted on the 8x magnification photograph. Using smartphones as an alternative tool for evaluating renal biopsy tissue adequacy can be practical and advantageous in terms of time and labor.