Evaluation of the safety, effectiveness, and health-related QOL impact of early rehabilitation in patients with nephrotic syndrome.

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety, effectiveness, and health-related QOL impact of early rehabilitation in patients with nephrotic syndrome.

METHODS

Subjects consisted of 23 patients with nephrotic syndrome who had previously received steroid treatment. Patients worked performed quadriceps resistance training and aerobic training 5 days per week for 5 weeks. Urinary protein, albumin (Alb), creatinine (Cre), and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) were monitored once every week over a 5-week period based on medical records. The 36-item short form health survey (SF-36) score was used to evaluate health-related QOL.

RESULTS

There was no significant difference in quadriceps force and no significant effect of age as shown by ANCOVA. Anaerobic threshold (AT) and peak oxygen consumption (peak VO) both increased significantly. AT was affected by the degree of change in body weight according to ANCOVA. Cre and BUN were not significantly altered. Urinary protein showed a significant decrease and Alb was significantly increased. Only physical function (PF) in the SF-36 showed a significant improvement following the intervention.

CONCLUSION

Our data indicate that early rehabilitation involving quadriceps resistance training and aerobic training for nephrotic syndrome is safe and effective.