Diagnostic and prognostic significance of serum and urinary enzymes in nephropathies among Egyptian children.

Study of serum and urinary enzyme pattern in nephropathies revealed that before treatment, cases of both acute nephritis and nephrotic syndrome were found to have an increased activity of the three enzymes studied in both serum and urine (Alkaline and acid phosphatases and Lactic dehydrogenase). However, there was no constant correlation between the level of serum and urinary enzyme activities. Distorted pattern of the enzymes has a more protracted course in nephrotics. After treatment, serum and urinary enzymes tended to normalise in cases of acute glomerulonephritis. However, urinary alkaline phosphatase remained high nephrotics after clinical remission. In some cases of acute nephritis, a persistently high level of serum enzyme may indicate an incipient nephrotic element. Nephrotics not responding to the four weeks course of corticosteroid therapy have persistently high serum and urinary enzyme activities. Thus, estimation of serum and urinary enzyme pattern in nephropathies may be of diagnostic and prognostic value.