Chapter 2: Immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN)/immunoglobulin A vasculitis (IgAV)

Chapter 3: Membranous nephropathy

Chapter 4: Nephrotic syndrome in children

Chapter 5: Minimal change disease (MCD) in adults

Chapter 6: Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) in adults

Chapter 7: Infection-related glomerulonephritis

Chapter 9: Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis

Chapter 10: Lupus nephritis

Chapter 11: Anti-glomerular basement membrane (Anti-GBM) antibody glomerulonephritis

Document Overview

Design and created by Guideline Central in participation with the Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes and National Kidney Foundation.

Glomerular Diseases

Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes

National Kidney Foundation

Publication Date: Oct 1, 2021

Page Last Updated: May 5, 2026

Nomenclature and Description for Rating Guideline Recommendations

Grade	Strength of Recommendation
Level 1 (Strong Recommendation): “We recommend”	For the Patient	For the Clinician	Policy
Level 1 (Strong Recommendation): “We recommend”	Most individuals in this situation would want the recommended course of action and only a small proportion would not.	Most individuals in this situation would want the recommended course of action and only a small proportion would not. The majority of individuals in this situation would want the suggested course of action, but many would not.	The recommendation can be adopted as policy in most situations.
Level 2 (Conditional Recommendation /Suggestion) “We suggest”	The majority of individuals in this situation would want the suggested course of action, but many would not.	Different choices will be appropriate for different patients. Decision aids may well be useful in helping individuals making decisions consistent with their values and preferences. Clinicians should expect to spend more time with patients when working toward a decision.	The recommendation is likely to require substantial debate and involvement of stakeholders before policy can be determined.
NG	Not Graded

Grade	Quality of Evidence
A: High	We are confident that the true effect lies close to that of the estimate of the effect.
B: Moderate	The true effect is likely to be close to the estimate of the effect, but there is a possibility that it is substantially different.
C: Low	The true effect may be substantially different from the estimate of the effect.
D: Very low	The true effect is likely to be substantially different from the estimate of effect.

Document Overview

Document Title: Management of Glomerular Diseases

Authoring Societies

Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes

National Kidney Foundation

Document Publication Date: Oct 1, 2021

Page Last Reviewed/Updated: May 5, 2026

Document Type: Guideline

Country of Publication: United States

Full Text Freely Available: Yes

Full Text Guideline: www.kidney-international.org/article/S0085-2538(21)00562-7/fulltext

Source Citation: Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) Glomerular Diseases Work Group. KDIGO 2021 Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Glomerular Diseases. Kidney Int. 2021 Oct;100(4S):S1-S276. doi: 10.1016/j.kint.2021.05.021. PMID: 34556256.

Supplemental Implementation Resources

Document Scope, Criteria, and Use Cases

Scope: Assessment and Screening, Management, Treatment

Diseases/Conditions (MeSH)

D005921 - Glomerulonephritis

Keywords: Clinical Practice Guideline, KDIGO, evidence-based recommendations, glomerulonephritis, nephrotic syndrome, systematic review

Inclusion Criteria: Male, Female, Adolescent, Adult, Child, Older Adult

Health Care Settings: Ambulatory, Childcare Center, Hospital, Outpatient

Intended Users: Clinical Researcher, Nurse, Nurse Practitioner, Physician, Physician Assistant

Recommendation Development Processes & Methodology

Supplemental Methodology Resources: Data Supplement Data Supplement Data Supplement Data Supplement Data Supplement

Number of Source Documents: 976

Literature Search Start Date: Saturday, September 1, 2018

Literature Search End Date: Sunday, September 1, 2019

Includes peer/external review process?: Yes

Includes public comment process?: No

Methodologist involvement?: Yes

Patient involvement?: No

Includes multi-disciplinary group?: Yes

Includes systematic review?: Yes

Grades quality of strength of evidence?: Yes

Grades quality of strength of recommendation?: Yes

Discloses funding source?: Yes

Discloses conflicts of interest?: Yes

Includes benefits/harms analysis with recommendations?: Yes

Glomerular Diseases

Chapter 2: Immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN)/immunoglobulin A vasculitis (IgAV)

Recommendation 2.3.1

Recommendation 2.3.1.1

Recommendation 2.3.2

Recommendation 2.7.1.1

Chapter 3: Membranous nephropathy

Recommendation 3.3.1

Chapter 4: Nephrotic syndrome in children

Recommendation 4.3.1.1

Recommendation 4.3.2.1

Recommendation 4.3.2.2

Recommendation 4.4.1

Chapter 5: Minimal change disease (MCD) in adults

Recommendation 5.3.1

Recommendation 5.3.1.1

Chapter 6: Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) in adults

Recommendation 6.2.2.1

Recommendation 6.3.1.1

Chapter 7: Infection-related glomerulonephritis

Recommendation 7.2.2.3.1

Recommendation 7.2.3.3.1

Chapter 9: Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis

Recommendation 9.3.1.1

Recommendation 9.3.2.1

Chapter 10: Lupus nephritis

Recommendation 10.2.1.1

Recommendation 10.2.3.1.1

Recommendation 10.2.3.2.1

Chapter 11: Anti-glomerular basement membrane (Anti-GBM) antibody glomerulonephritis

Recommendation 11.2.1

Nomenclature and Description for Rating Guideline Recommendations

Document Overview

Supplemental Implementation Resources

Document Scope, Criteria, and Use Cases

Recommendation Development Processes & Methodology