Extended versus standard corticosteroid treatment in primary nephrotic syndrome onset

Introduction. The standard treatment for the onset of primary nephrotic syndrome (PNS) consists of 8 weeks of prednisone. Alternatively, it was postulated that extending treatment to 12 weeks is associated with fewer relapses. We aimed to evaluate whether relapses' cumulative incidence (CI) at 2 years was lower with extended treatment. Population and methods. This is a retrospective cohort study of patients with PNS who were followed for 2 years and grouped according to the initial treatment received. Results. Thirty-seven patients were included per regimen. The time to first relapse was similar (p = 0.63), and the CI of relapses at 2 years was 75.6% with standard treatment and 72.9% (p = 0.79) with extended treatment; relative risk was 0.96 (95%CI 0.73-1.26). Relapse-free survival in the 2 years of follow-up was also similar (log-rank test = 0.51). Conclusion. Relapse CI at 2 years was similar with both treatment regimens.