In a pediatric and in an adult group of patients with hematuria and normal creatinine clearance overnight urine examination was carried out on 2 nonconsecutive days by means of phase contrast microscopy by two independent observers working in two different institutions. In this way it was possible to distinguish between patients on the basis of dysmorphic (glomerular) and isomorphic (nonglomerular) red cells in urine and to correlate the findings with the final diagnosis. A clear-cut indication (more than 80% of isomorphic and/or dysmorphic red cells) was obtained in 163 patients (102 of pediatric age) and final diagnosis of hematuria correlated with red-cell microscopy findings in 96.4% of glomerular diseases and in all cases of nonglomerular origin. Mixed hematuria (50–75% of dysmorphic red cells) was found in 2 cases of renal tuberculosis, 2 cases of polycystic kidney disease and in 1 child with viral meningoencephalitis with a bladder stone. The data indicate that the method is safe and accurate but further experience must be gathered for the many etiologies of glomerular and nonglomerular diseases hitherto not studied.

Thyroid function was measured in 30 healthy subjects and 84 patients with various degrees of nephron loss (GRF: 70 +/- 15 m/min, 30 +/- 16 ml/min, 10 +/- 7 ml/min and 2.1 +/- 1.3 ml/min). A low T3 and T4 syndrome is evident when GRF is reduced to 30 +/- 16 ml/min while a blunted TSH response is detected earlier in the course of nephron loss. T3 response to TRH was normal and FT4 was not affected by renal dysfunction. The data indicate that in nephron loss hypothalamic-pituitary abnormalities occur.

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