Spinal Epidural Lipomatosis, a Steroid-associated Side Effect Seen in a Case of Adult Minimal Change Disease

Minimal change disease is a significant cause of primary nephrotic syndrome in adults of all ages, accounting for approximately 10-15% of cases. Prednisolone is commonly taken for a minimum of 4 weeks and a maximum of 16 weeks in adult patients with minimal change disease at a dose of 1.0 mg/kg/day (with a maximum of 80 mg/day). Long-term use of high-dose steroids increases the chance of developing a variety of steroid-related toxicities, the most common of which are diabetes mellitus, gastrointestinal problems, infections, osteoporosis and steroid-induced psychiatric syndrome, all of which can impair quality of life. Here, we report a case of spinal epidural lipomatosis, which is an uncommon side effect of steroid medications encountered by us in an adult patient who presented with nephrotic syndrome and had a kidney biopsy that revealed minimal change disease and was treated with steroids.