Nephrotic Syndrome Definition, Reason, Symptoms, Treatment & Prevention
Definition
Nephrotic syndrome is a disease characterized by impaired kidney filtering function. This causes a lot of protein to be excreted from the body through urine.
Nephrotic syndrome can happen to anyone, both children and adults. The two have slightly different symptoms and treatments. This article will discuss nephrotic syndrome that occurs in children.
There are two types of nephrotic syndrome in children, namely:
- Primary nephrotic syndrome: is the most common type and affects only the kidneys.
- Secondary nephrotic syndrome: is a nephrotic syndrome caused by another disease.
Nephrotic Syndrome Symptoms
The main symptom of nephrotic syndrome is swelling all over the body. Swelling is more common in the lower legs, instep, ankles and around the eyes. In addition, the child’s urine looks frothy and cloudy. In some cases, urine or urine can also be reddish.
Apart from that, children may also have no appetite, have diarrhea, and are prone to infections (usually characterized by fever, looking very weak or fussy, and abdominal pain).
The nephrotic syndrome often causes complications in the form of:
- More susceptible to influenza infections and lung infections which are characterized by symptoms of fever, coughing, and shortness of breath
- Blockage of blood vessels
- Cholesterol increases
Nephrotic Syndrome Reason
Nephrotic syndrome occurs due to disorders of the body’s immune system. The body’s immune system considers the kidney as an ‘unknown foreign object’ so it is resisted by the immune system. However, until now, the cause of this immune system disorder is not clearly known.
Diagnosis
After exploring complaints and carrying out a physical examination, doctors will generally advise patients to carry out examinations:
- Urine examination: this examination can be done by collecting urine at one time, it can also be by collecting all urine within 24 hours. The purpose of the examination is to find out the presence of protein in the urine and how much of it. Under normal circumstances, urine should not contain protein.
- Blood tests: what is examined is kidney function such as urea and creatinine, as well as total cholesterol examination.
- Ultrasound of the kidneys: an ultrasound examination of the kidneys is needed to see if there are changes in the shape of the kidneys.
- Kidney biopsy: most cases of nephrotic syndrome in children require a biopsy to determine microscopic abnormalities that occur in the kidney. It is important to determine the treatment. The biopsy procedure is not difficult and can be done quickly, generally in a hospital polyclinic.
Nephrotic Syndrome Treatment
The goal of nephrotic syndrome treatment is to control the body’s immune system so that it does not continue to damage the kidneys, to remove excess body fluids that cause swelling in various places, and to lower blood pressure.
To control the body’s immune system, the doctor will give corticosteroid drugs. This drug will reduce the activity of the body’s immune system so that protein leakage in the kidneys will gradually decrease. Generally, treatment is carried out for at least six weeks.
There are some cases that do not improve after being given corticosteroids. If this happens, an immunosuppressant class of drugs such as cyclophosphamide will usually be given by a doctor.
To deal with swelling throughout the body, the doctor will give a diuretic-type drug to remove excess fluid that has accumulated in the lower legs, instep, and others. This drug causes sufferers to urinate more frequently.
If there is high blood pressure, drugs to lower blood pressure are also given. Usually, the hypertension drug chosen is an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACE inhibitor) or ARB (angiotensin receptor blocker) class. These two types of drugs, in addition to lowering blood pressure, can also improve the filtering function of the kidneys.
Prevention
Not yet known action that can prevent the occurrence of nephrotic syndrome.