Background : The histological subtypes of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) have
different significance and influence clinical presentations and outcomes in patients with
FSGS. However, no such data has been reported in Korea. Methods : We reviewed renal
biopsy specimens of 69 adult patients who were diagnosed with idiopathic FSGS between
2000 and 2008, subclassified them according to the Columbia classification and correlated
the results with clinical findings. Results : The frequencies of the FSGS subtypes were not
otherwise specified (NOS) (n = 28), tip (n = 21), perihilar (n = 11), collapsing (n = 5) and cellular
types (n = 4) in descending order. Nephrotic syndrome was more common in patients
with the tip and collapsing types than the perihilar type. The prevalence of chronic kidney disease
stage 4/5 at the time of renal biopsy was significantly higher in patients with the cellular
type than the NOS or the tip type. The remission rate after treatment tended to be higher in
patients with the NOS type (22.0%) and the tip type (15.2%) than the perihilar (6.8%) and
collapsing types (3.4%). Conclusions : Classifying FSGS subtypes may be helpful to predict
of clinical features and renal outcomes