Glomerular Disease Clinic
What is glomerular disease?
Glomerular disease refers to conditions that affect the filtering units of the kidneys (called the “glomeruli”).
These conditions can cause a range of problems that include:
- protein and blood in the urine
- high blood pressure
- kidney dysfunction
- swelling of the body (called “edema”)
Children with these diseases need long-term follow-up care into adulthood for monitoring and ongoing treatment. Experts at the Glomerular Disease Clinic at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) can help.
Who we treat
The Glomerular Disease Clinic treats patients under the care of CHOP nephrologists at the Main Campus and at satellite clinics. We also welcome any patients who are primarily treated at a hospital other than CHOP and are seeking a second opinion regarding diagnosis or next steps in disease management. We collaborate with referring physicians for coordination of care following the second opinion consultation.
Transition to adult care
We also help adolescents and young adults transition to adult care at Penn Medicine.
This approach is helpful in several ways:
- It will help your child’s adult nephrologist better understand your child’s background and disease history;
- It will give you and your child a chance to ask questions and raise any concerns you may have; and
- It helps our experts collaborate with peer experts to create an appropriate and personalized care plan for your child.
Conditions we treat
- Nephrotic Syndrome
- Congenital Nephrotic Syndrome
- Minimal Change Disease
- Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis (FSGS)
- Membranous Nephropathy
- IgA Nephropathy
- IgA Vasculitis Nephritis (Henoch-Schonlein Purpura or HSP with nephritis)
- Lupus Nephritis
- ANCA Associated Vasculitis
- Membranoproliferative Glomerulonephritis (MPGN)
- C3 Glomerulopathy
- Dense Deposit Disease
- Alport Syndrome
- Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome
Outcomes improvement
CHOP is the coordinating center for GLEAN (Glomerular Learning Network), a multicenter collaborative focused on improving the health and well-being of children with glomerular disease through research, quality of life improvement, and patient/family engagement initiatives.
Information about research opportunities
The Glomerular Disease Clinic offers information to patients and families about disease-specific clinical research and clinical trial opportunities, including recruitment to studies that are currently enrolling patients at CHOP or Penn Medicine based on eligibility criteria.
Meet Our Team
Gaia Coppock, MD
Michelle Denburg, MD, MSCE
Laura S. Finn, MD
Abdallah Geara, MD
Lawrence Holzman, MD
Madhura Pradhan, MD, MBBS
Claudia Szczepanek, RN
Rebecca Scobell, MD, MSCE