Clinical case of steroid-dependent nephrotic syndrome in a child

Abstract

Nephrotic syndrome (NS) is a common glomerular pathology encountered in pediatric practice. The main clinical signs are massive proteinuria, hypoalbuminemia, hyperlipidemia, and edema. Among all cases of NS, 75 % of children have a histological variant of glomerular lesions in the form of minimal change di­sease that is sensitive to hormone therapy, but easily leads to relapse and steroid dependence. These children often need to extend the time of taking hormonal drugs or add other immunosuppressants, which can have significant toxicity. Available immunosuppressant treatment options include cyclophosphamide, cyclosporine A, tacrolimus, and mycophenolate mofetil. The use of rituximab is a possible alternative treatment for steroid-dependent nephrotic syndrome in children. However, the efficacy and safety of ritu­ximab in the treatment of childhood steroid-dependent nephrotic syndrome is still controversial. The purpose was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of rituximab treatment in a child with steroid-dependent nephrotic syndrome on the example of a clinical case from our own practice.

Keywords

• rituximab
• pediatric nephrology
• nephrotic syndrome
• steroid-dependent nephrotic syndrome