Association Between Toxoplasma Gondii Infection and Nephrotic Syndrome Risk in Children: A Case-Control Study and Systematic Review Publisher Pubmed



Sorkhi H¹ ; Mollalo A² ; Bijani A³ ; Mehravar S⁴ ; Pournasrollah M¹ ; Sadr Moharerpour S¹ ; Rostami A⁵
Source: Journal of Tropical Pediatrics Published:2022

Abstract

Some evidence suggests toxoplasmosis as an etiology of nephrotic syndrome (NS) in children; however, no observational study evaluated this relationship. In a case-control study, we enrolled 35 children with NS and 37 healthy children. All participants were examined for anti-Toxoplasma immunoglobulin G and M (IgG and IgM) antibodies using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. We also systematically reviewed the literature to assess this relationship. Prevalence of anti-Toxoplasma IgG was 17.4% and 13.5% in cases and controls, respectively, indicating a non-significant association (adjusted odds ratio, 1.22, 95% confidence interval, 0.35-4.41). No subjects were seropositive for IgM. In a systematic review, we found that acute toxoplasmosis can induce NS in some children and anti-Toxoplasma treatment is effective in the remission of NS in these cases. In pediatrics with NS, acute toxoplasmosis should be considered as a neglected causative factor. © 2022 The Author(s) [2022].