This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.

Less scarring noted with MPD use after acute pyelonephritis

Huang YY. Pediatrics. 2011;doi:10.1542/peds.2010-0297.

Renal scarring associated with pyelonephritis was far less common among hospitalized children who had been treated with adjunctive oral methylprednisolone sodium phosphate combined with antibiotics, according to a study published online.

Ya-Yun Huang, MD, of the National Cheng Kung University Medical College and Hospital in Tainan, Taiwan, and colleagues examined data on 84 children who were aged 1 week to 16 years, had evidence of urinary tract infection and were at increased risk for renal scar formation.

Nineteen children were administered antibiotics with oral methylprednisolone sodium phosphate (MPF; 1.6 mg/kg per day for 3 days), and the remainder of the children received antibiotics with a placebo (every 6 hours for 3 days). Huang and colleagues then examined results from a follow-up dimercaptosuccinic acid scan 6 months after treatment.

The researchers noted renal scarring in 33.3% of those children who received MPD and 60% of the placebo group.

“Adjunctive oral MPD with adequate antibiotics merits further consideration as a potential treatment regimen to alleviate permanent tissue injury in admitted children with serious acute pyelonephritis,” the researchers concluded.

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.

Follow the PediatricSuperSite.com on Twitter.