The benefit of plasma exchange in anuric patient with steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome - long-term follow-up

Abstract

Recently, plasma exchange (PE) has been added to the treatment regimen for patients with steroid-, cyclophosphamide-, and cyclosporine-resistant nephrotic syndrome. This is a case report of a female patient with severe acute renal failure (ARF) during the relapse of steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome (SRNS) who recovered completely after PE and became steroid-sensitive in further follow-up of 48 months. An 8-year-old girl was referred to Nephrology Department of the University Children's Hospital due to relapse of SRNS complicated with ARF. Her nephrotic syndrome (mesangioproliferative glomerulonephritis) was diagnosed at the age of 17 months. During the following 6 years, she was given several therapeutic regimens including pulse prednisolone, cyclophosphamide, Cyclosporine (CyA), but she continued to have frequent relapses and during the last six months she was steroid- and cyclosporine-resistant. Three days before admission, she was febrile, had cellulites of the lower abdominal wall, diarrhea, vomiting, hypovolemic shock with generalized edema, severe hypoproteinemia and hypoalbuminemia. In a local hospital, she was treated with fresh frozen plasma, albumin, methylprednisolone, furosemide and antibiotics, but she became anuric and was referred to our hospital. There were no signs of hemolysis. Anuria lasted for 12 days. She was discharged after 42 days in remission with normal GFR. Principal treatment included: 13 sequential hemodialysis sessions (30% of body weight was removed as excess volume), 6 PE, corticosteroids, CyA, ACE inhibitor, antibiotics, antimycotics, and cimetidine. Six PE sessions were performed every other day. In further 48-month follow-up, while under the treatment of CyA the patient had a few steroid-sensitive relapses, the first being 6 months after PE. The second kidney biopsy showed focal segmental glomerulosclerosis with no signs of apparent CyA nephrotoxicity. "Malignant" course of disease in our patient was a good reason to introduce PE into the treatment. Since PE was the only additional mode of treatment, it is believed that its effect was crucial for milder activity of the disease.