Corticosteroids are an important treatment for children with a serious kidney problem called pediatric lupus nephritis (pLN). These medications help reduce inflammation and improve kidney function, but they can also cause side effects, like damage to bones and other organs. Steroids have been used to treat pLN for years, but there is not much research on the best way to use them, especially when it comes to how much medicine to give. Some new guidelines recommend giving lower doses of steroids at the beginning of treatment, but it is still unclear how to safely balance using steroids while controlling the disease.

Our research is trying to understand what factors affect how much steroids children with pLN get in the early stages of treatment. By studying data from a large group of 143 children, we hope to find out what things influence steroid doses, such as the child’s age, sex, and how active their lupus is. We are also looking at how often the children visit the doctor and how other treatments affect the amount of steroids used.

We believe that finding the factors that affect how much steroids children are given can help doctors make better decisions, so children get the right amount of medication. We also want to know if certain groups of children are more likely to get higher doses, which can lead to more side effects.

Besides understanding how steroids are prescribed, we will also look at how steroid doses affect the child’s health over time. We want to see if certain dosing patterns are linked to problems like long-term damage. We hope our findings will help create better treatment guidelines that lower the risks of side effects, while still controlling the disease.

This study will provide important information that can help doctors treat children with pLN more safely and avoid long-term health problems. In the end, we want our research to improve care for children with this condition and make sure they get the best treatment while reducing harm.