Polypoid change of the glomerular basement membrane in patients with congenital heart disease.

Polypoid change of the glomerular basement membrane was found in four children with cyanotic congenital heart disease. Only one child had Down's syndrome, in which the change was reported previously. Approximate frequency of glomerulus having the change on arbitrary sections was from a half to a tenth. The frequency was not related to patient's age but boldness of the projections was apparently increased with age. The change seems to be rather a minor congenital abnormality than the result of circulatory disturbance or immunologically mediated damage.