Pediatria pre prax 5/2011

Plasmapheresis therapy for rapidly progressive Henoch-Schönlein nephritis

To date, there is no established guideline for treatment of rapid progressive glomerulonephritis in subjects with Henoch-Schönlein purpura. Corticosteroids are recommended either alone or in combination with a large number of immunosuppressive drugs. In case, that this approach remains not succesfull, the next step may be treatment by plasmapheresis. In this report, we present a case of a 16 years old boy with rapid progressive glomerulonephritis and renal insufficiency due to Henoch-Schönlein purpura, in whom we applied plasmapheresis as rescue therapy with good results.

Keywords: Henoch-Schönlein purpura, rapid progressive glomerulonephritis, immunosuppression, plasmapheresis.