title: Duration of optimal therapy for idiopathic focal segmental glomerulosclerosis.
abstract: We conducted a retrospective study to evaluate the duration of optimal steroid therapy in idiopathic focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). We evaluated 93 adult patients (n=65 males) with biopsy proven FSGS. Mean proteinuria was 5.4 +/- 2.8 gm/dL. Twelve patients were lost at follow-up. Of the remaining 81 patients, nephrotic range proteinuria was present in 48 (59%), and 21 (26%) presented with renal insufficiency. Of these patients, three (3.9%) experienced spontaneous remission. Seven patients were managed symptomatically with ACE inhibitors and never received steroids. Of the 71 patients, 32 received >16 weeks of steroid therapy, while 39 received <16 weeks of steroid therapy. Twenty-four patients (75%) who received >16 weeks of steroid therapy had a complete or partial remission, while only 18 (46%) of those with <16 weeks of steroid therapy had a steroid response (p=0.001). Patients with more than 25% interstitial fibrosis at biopsy also showed significantly lower remission rates (p=0.02). Hypertension, hematuria and degree of proteinuria did not significantly affect the response to steroid therapy. Univariate logistic regression analysis showed that the factors predictive of remission were: (1) steroid therapy duration (p=0.001); (2) serum creatinine (Cr) at onset (p=0.001) and; (3) presence of interstitial fibrosis (>25%) at initial biopsy (p=0.02). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the only factor predictive of remission was steroid therapy duration >16 weeks (p=0.001). Therefore, we concluded that patients with idiopathic FSGS required treatment for at least 16 weeks, before labeling them as steroid non-responsive. Patients with interstitial fibrosis have a significantly poor response to therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, India.
authors.forename: Saurabh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pokhariyal
authors.forename: Sanjeev
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gulati
authors.forename: Narayan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Prasad
authors.forename: Raj Kumar
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: Uttam
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Ramesh Kumar
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.forename: Sanjay
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mittal
authors.forename: Bhavna
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mehta
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003404:Creatinine / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005923:Glomerulosclerosis, Focal Segmental / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000473:pathology; D007677:Kidney Function Tests; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011239:Prednisolone / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011379:Prognosis; D011507:Proteinuria; D012074:Remission Induction; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D005938:Glucocorticoids; D011239:Prednisolone; D003404:Creatinine