Demographics and clinical features
Out of a total of 150 patients seen over the period, 105 (70%) were males while 45 (30%) were females, with male/female ratio of approximately 2:1. Ninety-six (64%) of the patients were aged between 1-10 years whereas fifty-four (36%) were pre-adolescents and adolescents, aged 11-18 years. Forty-eight (32%) were aged 1-5 years. The mean age was 8.67 ± 4.69 years. At presentation, all (100%) the affected children presented with recurrent generalized body swelling. Haematuria and oliguria were seen in fifty-two children (34.6%) while hypertension and leukocyturia were seen in twenty-three (15.3%) and forty-five (30%) children, respectively (Table 1). The mean values of some biochemical variables at presentation were calculated as follows: serum albumin was 18.25 + 4. 04 g/l, urine protein/creatinine ratio (spot-urine protein) was 6.34 + 4.60 mg/mg, serum cholesterol was 8.76 + 1.83 mmol/l while estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was 112.93 + 59.39 ml/min/1.73 m2
Types of nephrotic syndrome
One hundred and eighteen (78.7%) of the patients had idiopathic nephrotic syndrome while the remaining thirty-two (21.3%) had secondary nephrotic syndrome etiologically attributed to the following: post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis (16/32, 50%), lupus nephritis (6/32, 18.7%), sickle-cell nephropathy (5/32, 15.6%), HIV-nephropathy (3/32, 9.4%) and hepatitis B infection (2/32, 6.3%) (Table1).
Responses to steroid therapy
One hundred and six (70.7%) of the patients initially had SSNS of whom twelve (11.3%) and eight (7.5%) later became frequent-relapsers and steroid-dependent patients, respectively. Notably forty-four (29.3%) patients were steroid-resistant. The mean age of patients with SSNS was 7.08 ± 4.3 years while that of patients with SRNS was 12.52 ± 3.05 years. The highest percentage (95.8%) of steroid sensitivity was found in patients aged 1 to 5 years. Only four (2.7%) had remained in full remission for at least 3 years.
Steroid sensitivity versus patient’s age
The relationship between steroid sensitivity and patient’s age was evaluated. As shown in Table 2, steroid sensitivity among the patients was significantly related to younger age-group whereas steroid resistance was significantly related to older age-group (χ2=45.414, p< 0.001). This finding suggests that steroid sensitivity may be age-dependent
Similarly, in comparing the mean ages of patients with SSNS with those with SRNS, their mean ages were 7.08 ± 4.31 years and 12.52 ± 3.05 years, respectively (t=7.619, p< 0.001): indicating that the mean age of children with SRNS was significantly higher than those with SSNS.
Outcomes of SRNS cases
Eleven (7.3%) of those with SRNS received calcineurin inhibitors, twelve (8%) progressed to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) out of which four (2.7%) had a successful renal transplant with a living unrelated donor in a private facility within the country. Five (3.3%) died due to inability to afford renal replacement therapy (RRT). The rest were lost to follow-up.
Sixty-eight patients had renal biopsy; while forty-two (61.76%) of them was due to SRNS, seven (10.29%), eight (11.76%) and eleven (16.17%) were due to frequent relapses, steroid dependence, and age of onset of greater than ten years, respectively. One of those with steroid dependence relapsed after 2 years in remission. Three children declined due to sociocultural reasons and financial constraints, as the caregivers paid for the procedure out-of-pocket.
Indications for renal biopsy and histopathological patterns
The most common indication for sixty-eight patients that had renal biopsy was SRNS. Three had a repeat due to previous inconclusive results. Over the period of five years, the commonest histopathological pattern was focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) (43/68, 63.2%). Other patterns, in the order of frequency, were diffuse mesangial (15/68, 22.0%), membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN) (7/68, 10.0%), minimal change nephrotic syndrome (MCNS) (2/68, 3.1%), and membranous glomerulonephritis (MGN) (1/68, 1.5%) (Figure1).
Study drop-outs
Twenty-one children were excluded from the study. While seven children were excluded due to missing or incomplete data, fourteen were lost to follow-up. Thus, steroid response could not be documented.