The Clinical Profile of Infections in Childhood Primary Nephrotic Syndrome

Objectives: To study the clinical profile of infections in a primary nephritic syndrome.Patients and Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of infections in 98 consecutive children (males 65, females 33) with primary nephrotic syndrome, who satisfied the International Study of Kidney Disease in Children criteria.Results: Their mean age at onset of symptoms was 55 ± 3.4 months (range: 6 months to 17 years). The mean duration of follow-up was 38 ± 3.4 months (range: 12 to 60 months). A total of 379 episodes of infection were observed in 87 of the 98 children. There was no relationship between age, sex, and severity or frequency of infections.The most common infections were upper respiratory tract infection (30.64%), gastroenteritis (11.08%), urinary tract infection (9.50%), and peritonitis (5.54%).Other infections included multiple warts, polyoma virus nephropathy, and pneumococcal appendicitis, which were not previously reported.Conclusions: Nephrotic children may get a variety of bacterial and viral infections.