Clinical features of children with Henoch-Schonlein purpura: risk factors associated with renal involvement

Abstract

Introduction: This study aimed to evaluate renal involvement and factors affecting the prognosis in patients with Henoch-Schonlein purpura (HSP).

Materials and methods: The outcomes of 107 children diagnosed with HSP who had been followed up for at least 6 months were reviewed.

Results: Renal involvement was observed in 26.1% of the patients. The mean age of the patients with renal involvement was 8.8 ± 4.0 years as compared to 7.1 ± 2.9 years in the patients without renal involvement (P = .02). The risk of renal involvement was found to be significantly higher in the patients who were 10 years old and over (P < .001). In the group with renal involvement, the frequency of scrotal involvement was significantly higher than that of the group without renal involvement (P = .02). The mean serum immunoglobulin A level of the patients with renal involvements was significantly higher (P = .04) and the mean serum complement C3 levels was significantly lower (P = .04) than those of the patients without renal involvement. None of the patients with renal involvement reached end-stage kidney failure. No significant relationship was observed between the development of renal involvement and early steroid treatment.

Conclusions: This study proposes that in old children with HSP, elevated serum immunoglobulin A levels, decreased serum complement C3 levels, and scrotal involvement are associated with renal involvement. We failed to find any effect of steroid treatment on development of renal involvement.