Trial reportPediatric nephrology (Berlin, Germany)2017
Short courses of daily prednisolone during upper respiratory tract infections reduce relapse frequency in childhood nephrotic syndrome.
Trial report in Pediatric nephrology (Berlin, Germany), 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 4 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 31 citations in OpenAlex.
- Corticosteroid therapy for nephrotic syndrome in children.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Pediatric idiopathic steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome: diagnosis and therapy -short version of the updated German best practice guideline (S2e) - AWMF register no. 166-001, 6/2020.Pediatric nephrology (Berlin, Germany) · 2021Guideline
- Corticosteroid therapy for nephrotic syndrome in children.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020Pooled it
- Corticosteroid therapy for nephrotic syndrome in children.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2015Pooled it
- Pandemic-Related Reductions in Respiratory Infections and New-Onset Nephrotic Syndrome: A Multicenter Cohort Study in Japan.Kidney medicine · 2026Article
- 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
- The 2025 KDIGO guideline on the management of nephrotic syndrome in children: a comment of the European Renal Association Immunonephrology Working Group.Clinical kidney journal · 2026Review
- Impact of glucocorticoid therapy on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function in pediatric nephrotic syndrome: A narrative review.World journal of clinical pediatrics · 2025Review
- Article
- Economic Evaluation of Using Daily Prednisolone versus Placebo at the Time of an Upper Respiratory Tract Infection for the Management of Children with Steroid-Sensitive Nephrotic Syndrome: A Model-Based Analysis.PharmacoEconomics - open · 2022Article
- Short Course of Daily Prednisolone During Upper Respiratory Tract Infection for Children With Relapsing Steroid Sensitive Nephrotic Syndrome: Evidence-Based Medicine Viewpoint.Indian pediatrics · 2022Article
- Optimizing the corticosteroid dose in steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome.Pediatric nephrology (Berlin, Germany) · 2022Review
- Steroid Sensitive Nephrotic Syndrome: Revised Guidelines.Indian pediatrics · 2021Article
- Molecular Mechanisms of Proteinuria in Minimal Change Disease.Frontiers in medicine · 2021Review
- Treating the idiopathic nephrotic syndrome: are steroids the answer?Pediatric nephrology (Berlin, Germany) · 2019Review
- How randomised trials have improved the care of children with kidney disease.Pediatric nephrology (Berlin, Germany) · 2016Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundRelapses of childhood nephrotic syndrome (NS) are frequently precipitated by viral upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs). A review of the literature reveals that in patients with steroid-dependent NS on alternate day corticosteroids, a short course of daily corticosteroid therapy during the course of an URTI may reduce relapse frequency.
objectiveTo assess the effect of a short course of low-dose corticosteroid therapy during the course of an URTI on relapse frequency in patients with steroid-sensitive NS who have not been taking any treatment for a minimum period of 3 months.
methodsA double-blind placebo-controlled crossover trial was conducted on 48 patients with idiopathic NS who had not been receiving corticosteroid therapy for a minimum of 3 months. Patients were randomized into two groups. Group A received 5 days of daily prednisolone at 0.5 mg/kg at the onset of an URTI while group B received 5 days of placebo. Both groups were followed up for 1 year and the URTI-induced relapse frequency was noted. A crossover was performed during the next year, with group A receiving placebo and group B receiving prednisolone.
resultsThirty-three patients completed the study. In the treatment group, 115 episodes of URTI led to 11 relapses while in the control group 101 episodes of URTI led to 25 relapses. There was no significant difference between the mean number of URTIs between the treatment and control groups. The treatment group had significantly less relapses compared to the control group (p = 0.014). Within the treatment group, 65.6% did not relapse, while the remainder had a single relapse. In contrast, only 40.6% of the control group remained in remission while 40.6% suffered a single relapse and 18.8% had two or more relapses.
conclusionsPrescribing a short course of daily corticosteroids during an URTI significantly reduces the frequency of URTI-induced relapse in patients with steroid-responsive NS who are off corticosteroid therapy.
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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.