Complications of Renal Biopsy

I've had to revise the renal biopsy complication rates that I'm quoting my patients after reading this review.

- Technically, complications occur in 7.4% to 19.5% of patients. These mostly consist of self-limiting macroscopic hematuria or a peri-renal, or subcapsular, hematoma

- AV fistulae occur in as many as 15%, but are usually self-limiting.

- Embolization of a bleeding vessel in needed in 1.5%

- Surgery is required in 0.1 to 0.4%

- Nephrectomy is necessary in 0.06%

- Surprisingly, it seems 33% of complications occur >8 hours post procedure. This is jars with my own experience, as I've mainly worked in institutions that practice day-case biopsies without difficulty.