Nefrotik Sendromlu Çocuklarda Tedavi Yan Etkilerinin Değerlendirilmesi.

Objective: The data reflecting adverse effects seen during the treatment of nephrotic syndrome (NS) in Turkey are limited. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the side effects of treatment of NS patients observed at our clinic. Material and Method: We retrospectively reviewed the data of 206 patients with NS (126 male; 80 female) followed up at the Pediatric Nephrology outpatient clinic of the Istanbul University Istanbul Medical Faculty between 1986-2010. Results: Mean age of 206 (126 male, 80 female) patients at the time of admission was 3.8±2.8 years (range: 0.2-13.8). During follow-up, 171 patients (83%) experienced at least one side effect due to any of the drugs. The most frequent side effects of steroid treatment in order of decreasing frequency were cushingoid appearance (52%), hypertension (23.4%), growth retardation (17%), cataract (6.8%) and osteoporosis (6.8%). Total duration of steroid use and steriod dose were higher in the patients who suffered from growth retardation, osteoporosis, cataract, hypertension than in those who did not suffer these side effects (p<0.05). Additionally, the patients with growth retardation had a higher relapse rate than in those without growth retardation (p=0.023). Neutropenia was detected in 13 (41.9%) patients who used cyclophosphamide, while in 5 (29.4%) patients who used cyclosporine A hypertension was observed. Conclusion: Adverse effects due to treatment of NS are seen in most of the patients with the diagnosis of nephrotic syndrome. The most serious adverse effects of steroids are growth retardation, osteoporosis, cataract and hypertension. These side effects were found to be related to duration of steroid treatment and total dose of steroids. Patients should be evaluated for these side effects periodically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]