Changes in clinicopathological features of primary nephrotic syndrome in children over a 10 years period: Research Paper

Abstract

Background Primary nephrotic syndrome (PNS) is a common chronic disease in childhood and results in heavy illness burden. The aim of this study is to investigate the change in the clinicopathological features of children with NS worldwide. Methods Children with PNS were divided into two groups according to the date of admission. Group A was admitted from January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2010 and group B from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2015. Clinical manifestations and pathological features of the children in both groups were retrospectively analyzed. Results This study includes 1072 patients. There were 783 cases of steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome (SSNS), 241 cases of steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome (SRNS), and 48 cases of unknown steroid effects. The incidence of complications in group B was significantly higher than that in group A, especially for infections. A total of 136 (12.96%) patients underwent renal biopsy. The most common lesions were minimal change disease (44.12%). The rate of mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis (MsPGN) significantly decreased and that of membranous nephropathy (MN) increased over the years. A total of 292 (27.24%) patients were administered immunosuppressants. The administration of Tripterygium was decreased, whereas the using of Tacrolimus increased over the years. Conclusion There have been changes in the incidence of complications, pathological features, and immunosuppressants in children with PNS over 10 years.