Sun Linlin, Chen Dongping, Zhao Xuezhi, Xu Chenggang, Mei Changlin
Kidney Institute of PLA, Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, China.
Intern Med. 2010;49(14):1417-21. doi: 10.2169/internalmedicine.49.3483. Epub 2010 Jul 15.
Prolonged steroid therapy is generally used for steroid-dependent nephrotic syndrome in pediatric patients. However, dwarfism secondary to a long-term regimen and its successful reverse is rarely reported. The underlying mechanism of dwarfism is still poorly understood, as both long-term steroid use and nephrotic syndrome may interact or independently interfere with the process of growth. Here, we present a 17-year-old patient with dwarfism and steroid-dependent nephrotic syndrome and the successful treatment by recombinant human growth factor and cyclosporine A with withdrawal of steroid. We also briefly review the current understanding and the management of dwarfism in pediatric patients with nephrotic syndrome.
