Nephrotic syndrome is a nonspecific disorder in which the kidneys are damaged, causing them to leak large amounts of protein (proteinuria at least 3.5 grams per day per 1.73m body surface area) from the blood into the urine.
Kidneys affected by nephrotic syndrome have small pores in the podocytes, large enough to permit proteinuria (and subsequently hypoalbuminemia, because some of the protein albumin has gone from the blood to the urine) but not...
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Nephrotic syndrome is a nonspecific disorder in which the kidneys are damaged, causing them to leak large amounts of protein (proteinuria at least 3.5 grams per day per 1.73m body surface area) from the blood into the urine.
Kidneys affected by nephrotic syndrome have small pores in the podocytes, large enough to permit proteinuria (and subsequently hypoalbuminemia, because some of the protein albumin has gone from the blood to the urine) but not large enough to allow cells through (hence no hematuria). By contrast, in nephritic syndrome, RBCs pass through the pores, causing hematuria.
It is characterized by proteinuria (>3.5g/day), hypoalbuminemia, hyperlipidemia and edema. A few other characteristics are:
The following are baseline, essential investigations
Further investigations are indicated if the cause is not clear
Nephrotic syndrome has many causes and may either be the result of a disease limited to the kidney, called primary nephrotic syndrome, or a condition that affects the...
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