Is Nephrotic Syndrome Fatal & Can A Child Die From It?

The nephritic syndrome refers to the glomeruli disorders, where glomerule represents various huge clusters of microscopic blood vessels present in the patients’ kidneys, which have small pores to filter the blood. According to the syndrome, glomeruli excrete protein in excessive amounts in the form of urine, which further results in edema and low levels of albumin protein as well as high levels of fat in the patient’s blood.

The fatality of the syndrome depends on its complications and prognosis:

According to the nephrologists and pediatricians, nephrotic syndrome has the following major complications-

• Blood clots
• Edema
• Acute level of kidney failure
• Chronic level of kidney failure
• Kidney disease at the end stage
• Severe kidney infections occurring frequently

The problem of malnutrition and other similar types of complications

Other than the aforementioned complications in any patient suffering from nephrotic syndrome, death from the disease depends on its prognosis and it varies in accordance with the following-

• The prime reason behind the cause of the nephrotic syndrome
• Age of a person, especially whether he/she is a child or an adult
• The extent of kidney damage
• Type or form of kidney damage⁽¹⁾

In some of the cases, symptoms related to nephrotic syndrome disappear totally if the problem takes place due to any treatable disorder, like any specific drug, an infection or a specific type of cancer. However, the health condition responsible to cause a nephrotic syndrome in a child is a curable way in a timely way and in an effective way. Unfortunately, this situation takes place hardly in half of the children and rarely in adults.

If your underlying disorder responds well to corticosteroids, you will find halt in the progression of your disease and the condition reverses partially. On the other side, if the syndrome is due to an HIV infection, it progresses in a relentless way leading to complete kidney failure within only 3 months or 4 months period.

When a child or adult suffers from nephrotic syndrome because of diabetes mellitus or systemic lupus erythematosus, drug treatment may help in reducing or stabilizing the amount of protein excrete from his/her urine. However, a few people fail to respond to the respective drug treatment and in turn, develop chronic kidney problems, which progress to permanent kidney failure even within only a period of few years.

Based on the aforementioned facts about the nephrotic syndrome, we should say that children born with the disease die even within only 1 year period.⁽¹⁾

Nephrotic syndrome mainly has the following symptoms-

• Cough and cold problems
• Reduction in the urine output
• Foamy urine
• Appetite loss or poor appetite
• Swelling in the entire body, also known as edema⁽²⁾

Nephrotic syndrome is a type of autosomal recessive genetic problem, according to which each parent passes a copy of his/her defective gene and in turn, the child has become diseased. Even though the problem remains present by birth, symptoms often appear during the initial 3 months of a child.⁽²⁾

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Also Read:

• Congenital Nephrotic Syndrome: Causes, Systemic Effects, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment