ArticlePediatric nephrology (Berlin, Germany)2009
Prednisone dosing per body weight or body surface area in children with nephrotic syndrome: is it equivalent?
Article in Pediatric nephrology (Berlin, Germany), 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Reshaping study design for faster extrapolation-based drug approval in pediatric inflammatory bowel diseases: An ESPGHAN-NASPGHAN position paper.Journal of pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition · 2026Pooled it
- The Italian Society for Pediatric Nephrology (SINePe) consensus document on the management of nephrotic syndrome in children: Part I - Diagnosis and treatment of the first episode and the first relapse.Italian journal of pediatrics · 2017Pooled it
- Treatment of steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome: new guidelines from KDIGO.Pediatric nephrology (Berlin, Germany) · 2013Guideline
- Efficacy of body weight vs body surface area-based prednisolone regimen in nephrotic syndrome.Clinical and experimental nephrology · 2020Trial
- Body weight-based prednisolone versus body surface area-based prednisolone regimen for induction of remission in children with nephrotic syndrome: a randomized, open-label, equivalence clinical trial.Pediatric nephrology (Berlin, Germany) · 2016Trial
- Best practice guidelines for idiopathic nephrotic syndrome: recommendations versus reality.Pediatric nephrology (Berlin, Germany) · 2015Trial
- Aligning Practice With Guidelines: A Canadian National Survey and Canadian Society of Nephrology Commentary on the 2025 KDIGO Pediatric Nephrotic Syndrome Recommendations.Canadian journal of kidney health and disease · 2026Article
- Relapse of Steroid-Dependent Nephrotic Syndrome Despite Long-Term Ciclosporin Therapy in an 11-Year-Old Child: A Case Report and Review on the Management of Nephrotic Syndrome in Children.Case reports in nephrology · 2026Article
- Management of Nephrotic Syndrome in Pediatric Patients Treated by Different Steroid Regimens.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025Article
- Growth Hormone Dosing Estimations Based on Body Weight Versus Body Surface AreaJournal of clinical research in pediatric endocrinology · 2023Article
- Update on the treatment of steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome.Pediatric nephrology (Berlin, Germany) · 2022Review
- Optimizing the corticosteroid dose in steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome.Pediatric nephrology (Berlin, Germany) · 2022Review
- Steroid Sensitive Nephrotic Syndrome: Revised Guidelines.Indian pediatrics · 2021Article
- Treatment of idiopathic nephrotic syndrome with two steroid dosing regimens - one-year observational study.Central-European journal of immunology · 2021Article
- Equations to estimate prednisone dose using body weight.Pediatric nephrology (Berlin, Germany) · 2019Article
- Weight-based dosing in medication use: what should we know?Patient preference and adherence · 2016Review
- Chapter 3: Steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome in children.Kidney international supplements · 2012Article
- Weight or body surface area dosing of steroids in nephrotic syndrome: is there an outcome difference?Pediatric nephrology (Berlin, Germany) · 2011Article
- Dosing of glucocorticosteroids in nephrotic syndrome.Pediatric nephrology (Berlin, Germany) · 2011Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The current guidelines recommend a dosage of prednisone of 60 mg/m(2) body surface area per day (BSA PRED) for the initial therapy of nephrotic syndrome (NS). Alternatively, a dosage of 2 mg/kg body weight per day (W PRED) can be used. We hypothesized that the BSA PRED and W PRED are not equivalent and analyzed the differences between BSA PRED calculated with various formulas for body surface area (BSA), W PRED and the dose of prednisone prescribed for our patients. We performed a retrospective chart review of the patients at their initial presentation of NS. Thirty-three children were included, of median age 3.34 years at presentation. The W PRED was significantly lower than BSA PRED (P < 0.05), with a median W PRED:BSA PRED ratio of 0.85 [interquartile range (IQR) 0.8 to 0.9]. The difference between W PRED and BSA PRED decreased proportionally to patients' weights up to 30 kg. No differences were noted between the various BSA formulas using both weight and height for the calculation of BSA. The Bland-Altman analysis showed a proportional error between W PRED and BSA PRED up to the average daily dose of 60 mg, with a mean bias of 0.86 (95% limits of agreement = 0.68 to 1.05). Ten out of the 33 patients (30%) were given a lower than recommended BSA PRED dose by more than 5 mg/day. In conclusion, the dosage of prednisone at 2 mg/kg per day versus 60 mg/m(2) per day is not equivalent for patients with weights <30 kg and/or dose <60 mg/day.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.