title: Adjunctive oral methylprednisolone in pediatric acute pyelonephritis alleviates renal scarring.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine if glucocorticoids can prevent renal scar formation after acute pyelonephritis in pediatric patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients younger than 16 years diagnosed with their first episode of acute pyelonephritis with a high risk of renal scar formation (ie, inflammatory volume ≥ 4.6 mL on technetium-99m-labeled dimercaptosuccinic acid scan [DMSA] or abnormal renal ultrasonography results) were randomly assigned to receive either antibiotics plus methylprednisolone sodium phosphate (1.6 mg/kg per day for 3 days [MPD group]) or antibiotics plus placebo (placebo group) every 6 hours for 3 days. Patients were reassessed by using DMSA 6 months after treatment. The primary outcome was the development of renal scars.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 84 patients were enrolled: 19 in the MPD group and 65 in the placebo group. Patient characteristics were similar between the 2 groups, including the acute inflammatory parameters and the initial DMSA result. Renal scarring was found in 33.3% of children treated with MPD and in 60.0% of those who received placebo (P < .05). The median cortical defect volumes on follow-up DMSA were 0.0 mL (range: 0-4.5 mL) and 1.5 mL (range: 0-14.8 mL) for the MPD and placebo groups, respectively (P < .01). Patients in the MPD group experienced faster defervescence after treatment than the placebo group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Adjunctive oral MPD therapy reduced the occurrence and/or severity of renal scarring after acute pyelonephritis in these hospitalized children who had a high risk of renal scar formation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, National Cheng Kung University Medical College and Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ya-Yun
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Mei-Ju
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Nan-Tsing
authors.initials: NT
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.forename: Hsin-Hsu
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Chou
authors.forename: Kuang-Yen
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Yuan-Yow
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Chiou
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000284:Administration, Oral; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D002921:Cicatrix / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008775:Methylprednisolone / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011704:Pyelonephritis / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D005938:Glucocorticoids; D008775:Methylprednisolone