Congenital Nephrotic Syndrome

THIS COLUMN, ABOUT THE clinical management of congenital nephrotic syndrome (CNS), was prompted by an infant who presented twice within a few months of life with a diagnosis of septic arthritis. During the infant's second admission, symptoms of acute renal failure were noted. Among the differential diagnoses was congenital nephrotic syndrome. I cared for this patient and his parents during the initial days of his diagnostic tests. In order to learn more about this potential diagnosis, I began a review of the literature. Fortunately, CNS was ruled out. The patient was found to be in failure due to nephrotoxic medications used to treat his septic arthritis. Because CNS was unfamiliar to me, I thought I would share my findings in this column.