Back
For best output, select "Paper Size" as "A4" and "Margin" as "0" or "None".
To save or print to PDF, please select Print Destination > Save as PDF, enable Background Graphics under "More Settings", then click "Save".
During the congress, E-Posters will be accessible to all participants on the congress website 24/7, as well as in the E-poster stations in the congress center.
Preparing your E-Poster
Please review the E-Poster format requirements carefully when preparing your E-Poster. Should your E-Poster not meet the mentioned requirements, it may not be displayed as described above.
E-Poster Submission Deadline
Please prepare and upload your E-Poster no later than March 14, 2026 11.59PM CET. After this date, you will no longer be able to prepare and upload your E-poster and it will not be displayed and accessible on the congress website.
Please follow the instructions below to input your abstract title.
Abstract titles should be brief and reflect the content of the abstract.
Nephrotic syndrome (NS) is one of the most prevalent chronic glomerular diseases in pediatric patients, with an annual incidence of 2 to 7 cases per 100,000 children. Despite its rarity, NS remains a concern as it can lead to end-stage renal disease (ESRS). Although most patients attain remission after corticosteroid therapy, the first in-line treatment for NS, 50% of patients develop frequent relapse nephrotic syndrome (FRNS). The current key objective of NS treatment is to avoid relapses while minimizing drug side effects. Rituximab is a non-steroid treatment for NS which can help in lowering relapse rates, without the side effects caused by steroids. Yet, rituximab’s efficacy and safety remains questioned. This systematic review aims to assess the efficacy and safety of rituximab in treating patients with childhood-onset steroid-dependent nephrotic syndrome.
This systematic review was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. All studies were derived from PubMed, ScienceDirect, ResearchGate and PMC by the keywords “Rituximab” and “Nephrotic Syndrome” and “Steroid-Dependent” and “Pediatric”. The search was conducted from October 8th until October 16th. Five authors independently extracted and evaluated only English-language studies based on inclusion criteria comprising randomized controlled studies (RCTs) assessing the efficacy and safety of rituximab as treatment for childhood-onset steroid-dependent nephrotic syndrome (SDNS). Animal studies, non-original studies, and studies with irrelevant or incomplete data were excluded. Study quality was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias 2 (RoB II) Scale and Risk of Bias in Non-Randomized Studies-of Interventions (ROBINS-I). Only studies with low-moderate risk of bias were included.
Four RCTs involving 149 steroid-dependent patients with an age below 18 years old were included. All studies, except one (Sheng et al.), showed that rituximab had a longer relapse-free period, relapse rate, and complete remission rate compared to placebos or other immunosuppressants. Although Sheng et al. found that rituximab had lower complete remission rate compared to general corticosteroids (GC), the study also found that rituximab had lower relapse rate compared to GC. All studies also consistently showed that rituximab showed no significant adverse events, including chronic nephrotoxicity and hypogammaglobulinemia. Risk of bias assessment showed three studies with low risk of bias, while one study showed a moderate risk of bias.
Rituximab treatment is an effective and well-tolerated therapy for childhood-onset SDNS and FRNS. Evidence from recent studies shows that Rituximab has potential to provide a sustained remission for childhood-onset SDNS and FRNS but further RCTs are needed to clarify its effectiveness over other immunosuppressants.
