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During the congress, E-Posters will be accessible to all participants on the congress website 24/7, as well as in the E-poster stations in the congress center.
Preparing your E-Poster
Please review the E-Poster format requirements carefully when preparing your E-Poster. Should your E-Poster not meet the mentioned requirements, it may not be displayed as described above.
E-Poster Submission Deadline
Please prepare and upload your E-Poster no later than March 14, 2026 11.59PM CET. After this date, you will no longer be able to prepare and upload your E-poster and it will not be displayed and accessible on the congress website.
Please follow the instructions below to input your abstract title.
Abstract titles should be brief and reflect the content of the abstract.
Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) associated vasculitis (AAV) is a rare cause of rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis with significant morbidity. While European studies have established incidence estimates and epidemiological patterns, Australian data are limited. The impact of geographic rurality on disease severity and outcomes, and the role of seasonal variation, remain poorly defined. Small regional studies suggest higher rural incidence and seasonal clustering, but these have not been confirmed in larger cohorts. Clarifying these patterns is important for early diagnosis and equitable service delivery.
All kidney biopsies performed between 2005 and 2022 across three public hospitals in Queensland (metropolitan, coastal, rural) were retrospectively reviewed. A total of 166 patients with biopsy-confirmed AAV were identified. Clinical and histopathological data were obtained from medical records and pathology databases. Geographical classification of rurality was based on the Modified Monash Model (MMM).
There were 109 MPO/pANCA, 45 PR3/cANCA, and 12 ANCA-negative cases; dual ANCA/anti-GBM positive and indeterminate cases were excluded. Estimated prevalence was 93.8 cases per million over 17 years, with annual incidence 5.52 per million, likely underestimated due to exclusion of non-biopsied and private cases. No significant seasonal variation was observed (summer 40, winter 34, spring 42, autumn 38). At presentation, metropolitan patients (n = 124) had a mean eGFR 31.7 mL/min/1.73 m² vs 26.7 in regional/rural patients (n = 42) (p = 0.19). More regional/rural patients required dialysis at diagnosis (24% vs 11%, p = 0.04) and remained dialysis-dependent at 3 years (24% vs 8%, p = 0.007). ANCA titre response after induction correlated with outcomes. Of 11 with persistent positivity, 7 experienced renal decline at 3 years; among 96 with improvement, only 8 declined despite 25 having baseline eGFR <15. At 3 years, renal outcomes were similar between groups (stable/improved: 78% metropolitan vs 70% regional/rural, p = 0.54). Mortality was 24.2% metropolitan vs 23.8% regional/rural, p = 0.98), with median time to death of 2.0 (IQR 0.25–5.0) vs 5.0 (IQR 0–7.0) years.
The incidence of biopsy-confirmed AAV in Queensland was lower than reported in European cohorts but comparable to other Asia–Pacific data (1,2). We found no evidence of seasonal variation, suggesting environmental triggers may differ regionally. Rural and regional patients were more likely to present with advanced kidney dysfunction and dialysis dependence and were more likely to remain dialysis-dependent at 3 years, highlighting a disparity in disease severity at presentation and longer-term renal outcomes between geographic regions. Despite these differences, overall mortality was similarly high across groups, underscoring the severe prognosis of AAV irrespective of location. These findings emphasise the need for equitable diagnostic access and early referral pathways in regional areas to improve renal outcomes in this high-risk population.
