Thursday, September 11, 2008

Nephrotic Syndrome


Today we discussed some issues about Nephrotic Syndrome. Here are some thoughts....

What is it? proteinuria (albuminuria greater than 3 g per 24 hours), hypoalbuminemia, and peripheral edema. Patients also have a predilection for hyperlipidemia and thrombotic disease.

Etiology: diabetes mellitus, systemic lupus erythematosus, and then primary or secondary minimal change disease, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, membranous nephropathy and amyloidosis.

A brief word about some of these:

Minimal change disease: more common in children. Also seen in Hodgkin's Disease or with NSAID use.


Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis: more common in those of African descent. Can be seen with HIV, reflux nephropathy, NSAID use, or obesity.


Membranous nephropathy: often associated with underlying hepatitis B, solid and hematologic malignancies, autoimmune disease, and medications.


See you on the wards,


Isaac

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