An accurate history and a thorough physical exam must be performed on each patient who presents with edema and proteinuria. Proteinuria and edema may be presenting symptoms for other conditions such as diabetes mellitus, adverse medication effects, or systemic lupus erythematous. It is also important to consider the patient’s age, family history, and recent illnesses.

Patients with MCD commonly present with periorbital, scrotum, labial, and/or lower extremity edema. On exam, patients may demonstrate anasarca, pericardial or pleural effusion, ascites, and abdominal pain. An affected individual is an intravascularly volume depleted and maybe oliguric, which can lead to acute kidney injury; a finding most frequently noted in adults. Children often present with severe infections (sepsis, pneumonia, and peritonitis) due to the depletion of immunoglobulin.[8] Minimal change disease in adults presents with hematuria, acute kidney injury, and hypertension.

Glomerulonephritis is associated with many diagnoses that are differentiated by histopathology or clinical presentation.[9] To establish the etiology of glomerulonephritis, one must determine whether the patient presents with nephritic or nephrotic syndrome. Nephritic syndrome is associated with hematuria,  proteinuria, and hypertension. Nephrotic syndrome is associated with heavy proteinuria, hypoalbuminemia, peripheral edema, hyperlipidemia, and thrombotic disease. The fluid status in patients with nephrotic syndrome alternates between hypovolemia and hypervolemia. Hypovolemic patients may be referred to as "underfilled" due to the loss of albumin through proteinuria. Hypoalbuminemia leads to decreased oncotic pressure and fluid sequestration in the interstitial space.[10] Hypoalbuminemia and low oncotic pressure induce reflexes through the juxtaglomerular apparatus to compensate for intravascular fluid losses by increasing sodium absorption and water retention. Patients with MCD are commonly hypovolemic (underfilled).

Hypervolemia (overfill) associated with nephrotic syndrome is due to tubular dysregulation, which increases sodium absorption and water retention. In these patients, hypoalbuminemia and decreased oncotic pressure are not the cause of edema.  Therefore, it is important to understand each patient's volume status before initiating therapy that addresses edema.  

In children, MCD is the most common cause of idiopathic nephrotic syndrome. Minimal change disease is the third most common cause for idiopathic nephrotic syndrome in adults after focal segmental glomerular sclerosis and membranous nephropathy. An early kidney biopsy is crucial to making the diagnosis of MCD in adults.[1]

In children, MCD is primarily a clinical diagnosis, and biopsy is only required in the presence of atypical clinical features:

• Age of onset <1 or >12 years old
• Gross hematuria
• Low serum C3
• Marked Hypertension
• Elevated creatinine
• Renal failure without hypovolemia
• Positive history or serology for secondary causes
• Steroid resistance[2]

A successful response to steroid might be anticipated in children how to present with typical clinical findings of MCD and are:

• Age 1-12 years old
• Normotensive
• Normal Renal Function
• +/- Microscopic hematuria

Basic labs:

• Urinalysis/ Urine microscopy: Dipstick will show 3+/4+ proteinuria. A urine dipstick and urinalysis (UA) are often the initial tests obtained to screen for MCD. In MCD, the urine typically looks frothy secondary to the proteinuria, and the microscopy shows oval fat bodies and fatty casts. Dysmorphic RBCs, acanthocytes, abnormal casts, and proteinuria are findings suggestive of glomerular injury not frequently seen in MCD.[9] Keep in mind that a urine dipstick has its limitations. The dipstick cannot identify the extent or type of proteinuria as it primarily detects albumin and does not detect low molecular weight proteins.[11] False-positive test results are noted in the presence of mucus, blood, pus, alkalinity, or concentration.[12] A 24-hour urine collection is required to quantitate urinary protein.
• Urine collection: A spot protein/creatinine ratio >200 mg/mmol in children and protein/creatinine ratio>300-350mg/mmol in adults is consistent with nephrotic syndrome, as is a 24-hour urine collection the reveals a total protein greater than 3 to 3.5 g/24hour in adults. A report of measuring protein output as gms/m2/hr accounts for differences in body mass. A measurement of 40mg/m2/hour or greater (1gm/m2/24hour) is indicative of proteinuria consistent with nephrotic syndrome in children. Microscopic hematuria is present in 10% to 30% of adults.[13]
• Complete metabolic panel (CMP): CMP demonstrates a low total protein, low albumin (frequently <2.5 g/dl), and low total calcium (ionized calcium binds to albumin and albumin is low).
• Complete blood count (CBC): CBC will show hemoconcentration and thrombocytosis. This is seen due to the intravascular volume contraction from fluid sequestration into the interstitial space.
• Total cholesterol and triglyceride levels: These are increased due to an increase in hepatic lipoprotein synthesis as a result of low oncotic pressures.[3]

Labs to rule out secondary causes:

• Antinuclear antibodies
• Hepatitis B and C serologic tests
• Serologic test for syphilis (e.g., rapid plasma reagin)
• HIV antibody test
• Complement levels (CH50, C3, C4)

The initial cornerstone treatment for minimal change disease is steroids. Children frequently achieve remission with steroids within 4 weeks vs. adults who achieve remission in two months or more [2]. The incidence of relapse is high in children and adults.

Children: Initial prednisone therapy is 60 mg/m^2(or 2mg/kg) administered daily for 4-6 weeks (maximum dose, 60 mg/day), or 40 mg/m2/(or 1.5mg/kg) on alternate days for 2-5 months taper. Reduce dose by 5 mg/m2 to 10 mg/m2 each week for another four weeks then stop, with a minimum duration of 12 weeks [14].

Adults: Initial prednisone treatment is 1mg/kg per day or 2 mg/kg/kg every other day (max 80mg/day or 120 mg every other day) for 4-16 weeks. Taper slowly over a course of 6 months after remission[13].

Patients who relapse demonstrate:

• Steroid resistance noted as the persistence of proteinuria in children after 4 weeks of prednisone and after 16 weeks for adults.
• Frequent relapses occur which are defined as two or more relapse in the first six months of presentation or four or more relapse within any 12 months
• Steroid dependency defined as relapses that occur during the tapering phase of steroid therapy or less than two weeks after discontinuing steroids
• Relapse nephrosis - > 2+ proteinuria on 3 consecutive days

• Prednisolone should be restarted if there is a relapse: 2 mg/kg daily (maximum 60 mg) until in remission for 3 days, then 1.5 mg/kg alternate days for 4 weeks, then stop or taper the dose over 4-8 weeks.

For frequent relapses/ steroid dependent (steroid- sparing agents):

• Cyclophosphamide: the dose of 2 mg/kg/ day for 8 to 12 weeks (should be started after reaching remission with the steroid)- potential gonadal toxicity, alopecia, bone marrow suppression.
• Cyclosporine: At a dose of 4 to 5 mg/kg/day usually for 1-2 years. Levels should be monitored after 1 to 2 weeks. Aim for a trough of 70 to 150. Can cause nephrotoxicity, hirsutism, hypertension, and gingival hyperplasia.

If intolerant to the above-mentioned drugs, can give:

• Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF): Doses of 500 to 1000 mg two times a day for 1 to 2 years. Should be monitored for leukopenia.[14]
• Rituximab (chimeric monoclonal antibody): 375 mg/weekly for 1 to 4 doses.[15] Side effects such as fulminant myocarditis, pulmonary fibrosis, fatal Pneumocystis jirovecii infections, ulcerative colitis, and allergic reactions.[2]

The differential diagnosis includes:

• Cardiac: Heart failure
• Hepatic: Liver failure, hepatocellular cirrhosis
• Digestive: Protein-losing enteropathy, malnutrition
• Renal: acute Glomerulonephritis, renal failure
• Immune: Angioedema, anaphylaxis
• Lymphatic: Primary/secondary lymphedema, congenital lymphedema

These diagnoses present with edema secondary to decreased intravascular oncotic pressure.

Minimal change disease has very good prognosis for all ages if there is a response to corticosteroid therapy. The primary morbidity is related to the adverse effects of the medications.[2]

These complications are mainly secondary to the extensive proteinuria that is seen with this disease. 

Children and adults with MCD are at risk for developing complications such as:

• Hypovolemia
• Infections (pneumonia, peritonitis, sepsis): Secondary to the loss of immunoglobulins (IgG) and complement factors via the urine. Also, there is decreased opsonization of capsulated organisms. 
• Venous thromboembolism: due to a decrease in antithrombin III, protein S, plasminogen, and increase prothrombotic factors.[11]
• Hyperlipidemia
• Acute kidney injury: From the intravascular volume depletion.

Patients with acute and active disease should have low sodium in their diet and should also be encouraged to restrict their fluid intake.

Minimal change disease is frequently encountered as the most common cause of nephrotic syndrome in children and it is the third most common cause of nephrotic syndrome in adults. A multidisciplinary team including a nephrologist, pharmacist, and primary care physician (pediatrician or an internist) is essential at optimizing therapy. In children, MCD presents with distinct clinical features. However, in adults, the clinical features may vary. It is important to recognize these clinical and lab findings associated with MCD to tailor and optimize therapy in MCD subgroups.