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World J Nephrol. May 6, 2014; 3(2): 16-23
Published online May 6, 2014. doi: 10.5527/wjn.v3.i2.16
Pediatric lupus nephritis: Management update
Rajiv Sinha, Sumantra Raut
Rajiv Sinha, Division of Pediatric Nephrology, Department of Pediatrics, Institute of Child Health, Kolkata 700017, India
Sumantra Raut, Department of Pediatrics, Dr B C Roy Post Graduate Institute of Pediatric Sciences, Kolkata 700054, India
Author contributions: Sinha R designed the study; Raut S performed the search; Sinha R and Raut S wrote the paper.
Correspondence to: Dr. Rajiv Sinha, MD, FRCPCH (UK) (CCT, UK), Division of Pediatric Nephrology, Department of Pediatrics, Institute of Child Health, 11 Biresh Guha Street, Kolkata 700017, India. rajivsinha_in@yahoo.com
Telephone: +91-93-30819380 Fax: +91-33-22801525
Received: May 30, 2013
Revised: August 28, 2013
Accepted: March 3, 2014
Published online: May 6, 2014
Processing time: 354 Days and 20.2 Hours
Core Tip

Core tip: Childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (cSLE) is a rare but severe autoimmune disease with multisystem involvement. Renal disease occurs in 50% to 75% of all cSLE patients and is a major cause of increased morbidity and mortality. Originally SLE nephritis was treated with steroids with a poor outcome which improved markedly with the introduction of cyclophosphamide, but at the cost of increased side effects which resulted in a further search for a less toxic, but equally effective regime. Here we discuss some newer drugs including immune-modulators and monoclonal antibodies in addition to azathioprine and mycophenolate mofetil, however, most of the evidence on these medications is restricted to adult literature and pediatric data are extrapolated from these trials.