Kidney Disease in Children

Because our physicians are also researchers, they are on top of the most recent advances in kidney care — and pass these on to our patients as quickly as possible. Children who require immunosuppressant medicines benefit from a long history of research on these agents. UChicago Medicine researchers helped develop and refine many important immunosuppressant medications, including OK-T3, a mainstay immunosuppression drug for more than a decade.

Our pediatric nephrologists have been recognized as some of the best physicians in the Chicago area. Combining their vast knowledge and many years of experience, they are able to successfully diagnose and treat children with all types of kidney problems.

Family plays a major role in managing a child's kidney disease. Having a child on dialysis or preparing for a kidney transplant can be especially challenging. We provide all of our patients and families with the education they need to successfully manage their child's health.

Our staff is always available by phone to address questions and concerns. Our advanced practice nurses work exclusively with children who have kidney problems and their families. They have helped hundreds of families through dietary changes, peritoneal dialysis and other events. As a result, our nurses can often address questions families have before they even have a chance to ask them.

We understand the stress and turmoil that kidney disease can cause a child and his or her family. We go to great strides to help our patients "be kids or teens," despite having a medical condition. One way we do this is by performing pre-emptive kidney transplants when it's the right solution for the child and a compatible donor kidney is available.

At many medical centers, children with end-stage renal disease have to suffer through inconvenient, unpleasant dialysis treatments before getting a kidney transplant. Here at Comer Children's, we're helping these patients skip dialysis and go straight to transplantation. These pre-emptive transplants save the patients and their families a lot of stress. Once a child recovers from transplant surgery, he or she can lead an active life. Some research also links pre-emptive transplants with better graft acceptance rates than transplants performed after dialysis is begun.

Our staff's expertise and skill allow them to take on very sick children who may be considered too difficult to treat at other pediatric hospitals. For example, we commonly provide dialysis and kidney transplants to children with HIV, multiple organ failure and complex congenital anomalies.

Our kidney transplant survival rates and our graft acceptance rates are among the highest in the United States. Our transplant patients are followed by our pediatric nephrologists from the pre-transplant phase until they are old enough to see an adult nephrologist. The close attention that these children receive helps ensure they keep their donor kidneys healthy for as long as possible.

Many of our patients have to take immunosuppressant medicines, which can cause weight gain, acne and other side effects. These drugs can also increase a child's risk of infection. Physicians at Comer Children's are experts in the various nuances of immunosuppressive medicines and prescribe only as much as needed to reduce side effects.

Our physicians and advanced practice nurses pride themselves in getting back to parents, older children and referring physicians as quickly as possible. Our staff knows firsthand: when you are worried about a sick child, a quick callback can save hours of anxiety and frustration. This also applies to diagnostic tests. Because we have our own renal pathologist on staff, we are able to provide parents and referring physicians with very quick results on kidney tests. Other hospitals often have to send tests to outside labs, which can delay results.

Children with chronic kidney problems have a lot to cope with — from restrictive diets to medication side effects. Teenagers who are also experiencing the stresses of puberty and adolescence may be especially at risk for depression, anxiety and other emotional problems.

Our social workers, nurses and child life specialists are here to help patients and their families through these issues. Teens can also talk to other teens in our teen lounge or through our teen support group. If necessary, patients and their families can meet with a therapist from our child and adolescent psychiatry group.