Predictive factors of long-term disease remission after rituximab administration in patients with childhood-onset complicated steroid-dependent nephrotic syndrome: a single-center retrospective study.

Background: Despite the fact that rituximab (RTX)-associated adverse events may be relatively frequent in younger patients, recent studies have reported RTX as a suitable first-line steroid-sparing agent for maintaining remission in children with steroid-dependent nephrotic syndrome (SDNS). However, the impact of age at RTX initiation on the long-term outcome remains unknown in this cohort.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical course of 61 patients with complicated SDNS who received a single dose of RTX (375 mg/m) followed by maintenance immunosuppressive agents (IS) from January 2008 to March 2021.

Clinical significance of KL-6, a marker of interstitial pneumonia, in cases of HCV-associated chronic liver disease.

Objective: Various antiviral therapies, including interferon therapy, are being conducted to treat chronic hepatitis C and suppress the onset of hepatocellular carcinoma. However, interstitial pneumonia is beginning to be recognized as one of the adverse reactions of this therapy, and is one of the complications associated with chronic hepatitis. Therefore, we measured the level of KL-6, an interstitial pneumonia marker, in patients with HCV-associated chronic disease, and then determined the possibility of utilizing serum KL-6 as a predictive factor for interstitial pneumonia and the clinical significance of KL-6 in HCV-associated chronic disease.