Nephrotic Syndrome: Symptoms, Complaints, Signs

The following symptoms and complaints may indicate nephrotic syndrome:

Pathognomonic (indicative of a disease).

  • Proteinuria >3.5 g/d – increased excretion of protein in the urine; foamy urine
  • Hypoproteinemia – decreased protein in the blood.
  • Hyperlipidemia (hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia) – increased blood lipids.
  • Hypocalcemia (calcium deficiency)
  • Hypalbuminemic edema (hypalbuminemia/decreased concentration of the plasma protein albumin in blood plasma (< 3.5 g/dL) associated with leg edema (water retention in the legs), periorbital (“around the eye socket”) and genital edema, and ascites/abdominal fluid)
    • Pronounced edema (weight gain up to 20-30 kg!).
  • Accelerated ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate; inflammatory parameters).

Associated symptoms

  • Steady weight gain
  • General fatigue
  • Arterial hypertension (high blood pressure)
  • Dyspnea (shortness of breath; a progressive dyspnea due to pleural and/or pericardial effusion (pericardial effusion), pulmonary embolism/occlusion of a pulmonary vessel)
  • Leukonychia (dot, dash or patchy white areas of the nails).
  • Microhematuria (no discoloration of the urine; only in the microscopic image erythrocytes / red blood cells) are noticeable.
  • Nail symptoms:
    • Yellow fingernail syndrome (yellow-nails; yellow-nail syndrome) – yellowish discolored nails.
    • Leukonychia (white nails: dot-shaped, dash-shaped or patchy white areas of the nails).
  • Xanthelasma / yellowish, raised plates in the tissues of the upper and lower eyelid (due toHyperlipidemia / dyslipidemia).