Spectrum of Infections in Children with Primary Nephrotic Syndrome: Cross Sectional Study

Background and Aim: Nephrotic Syndrome (NS) is a common renal disorder in pediatric population. Children with primary nephrotic syndrome are more susceptible to bacterial infections. Spectrum of infections in NS is not much studied. To determine the spectrum of infections in children with primary nephrotic syndrome. Methods: This study was a hospital based cross sectional study conducted in children with primary nephrotic syndrome (born to 18 years of age) admitted in a tertiary care hospital of Rajasthan, India. Seventy-six children with diagnosis of nephrotic syndrome were enrolled. Data for age, gender, type of infection and clinical manifestation were computed on SPSS -20 and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: Boys were affected more than girls with a ratio of 3.47:1. The mean age was 6.4±3.74 years. Most common presentations in our study were fever (46.05%), cough (42.11%) and burning micturition (19.74%). Infection was associated in 71.05% cases of relapses of nephrotic syndrome. The most common infections were acute respiratory tract infection (34.21%) [-URI-22.37% and pneumonia-11.84%] followed by urinary tract infection (26.32%). In our study we found that infection rates in overall, newly diagnosed, infrequent relapsers, frequnet relapsers steroid depndent and steroid resistant cases were 71%, 28%,85%, 91% 40% and 50% respectively. Conclusion: E coli, Klebsiella and Proteus were the most common bacteria in primary nephrotic syndrome. Respiratory and urinary tract infections were most common infections. Male are affected more commonly than females.