Review on long-term non-renal complications of childhood nephrotic syndrome

Background: Nephrotic syndrome (NS) is the most common glomerular childhood disease. A body of literature has described the long-term renal prognosis of childhood-onset idiopathic NS. However, the nonrenal outcomes have not been studied as much.

Aim: We aimed to discuss the long-term non-renal outcomes of childhood NS, highlighting studies with a follow-up period of more than 10 years.

Results: We reviewed the literature and found that a number of immunosuppressive agents have stopped inflammation, stabilised the podocyte cytoskeleton and reduce proteinuria. However, prolonged treatment has frequently been associated with a high risk of renal and non-renal complications in patients with a complicated disease course, defined as frequent relapses or steroid dependency. Non-renal complications may include impaired longitudinal growth and pubertal development, undesirable fertility outcomes, ocular complications, bone mineral diseases and potential malignancies.

Conclusion: This review discusses and summarises the non-renal outcomes of idiopathic childhood NS.