Inpatient treatment may help predict the risk of early hospital readmission in children with newly diagnosed lupus nephritis (LN, lupus-related kidney disease). According to recent study findings, those who were not treated with intravenous pulse methylprednisolone (IVMP), a high-dose steroid, were at higher risk of early hospital readmission. Meanwhile, those who were treated with intravenous (IV) albumin to treat fluid overload were also more likely to require readmission shortly after their initial inpatient stay.

IVMP has been shown to be a beneficial treatment to help combat inflammation, and these findings suggest that providing IVMP to hospitalized children with recently diagnosed lupus nephritis may help improve their outcomes shortly after hospital discharge. Treatment with IV albumin, on the other hand, may be an indicator of severe fluid overload, known as edema, and thereby help predict risk of early readmission due to disease severity.

Of the 75 children with new-onset LN included in the study, 17% required hospital readmission within 30 days of their initial stay. The primary cause of early readmission was worsening edema.

Fifty to 75% of children with lupus will develop LN. Learn more about lupus and children.

Read the study