Extending prednisolone treatment does not reduce relapses in childhood nephrotic syndrome

Prolonged prednisolone treatment for the initial episode of childhood nephrotic syndrome may reduce relapse rate, butwhether this results fromthe increased duration of treatment or a higher cumulative dose remains unclear.We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in 69 hospitals in The Netherlands. We randomly assigned 150 children (9 months to 17 years) presenting with nephrotic syndrome to either 3 months of prednisolone followed by 3 months of placebo ( n=74) or 6 months of prednisolone (n=76), and median follow-up was 47 months. Both groups received equal cumulative... Mehr ...