Objective:To study the clinical effect of cyclophosphamide pulse therapy(CYPT) in the treatment of refractory nephrotic syndrome(RNS) in children and changes in serum levels of soluble interlukin 2receptor(sIL2R). Methods:55 cases of RNS were randomly divided into 2 groups: the treatment groups(n=25) and control group(n=30).Patients of the treatment group were given each fortnightly 10 mg8226;kg1 of CY in 100~150 mL of normal saline administered by Ⅳ instillation in 1~1.5 h for 2 consecutive days. This course of treatment was repeated for 6~8 times. The accumulated total dose of CY was within 100~150 mg8226;kg1. Patients of the control group were given each 5~6 mg8226;kg18226;d1 of cyclosporin A(CysA) for a month. The dose of CysA could be increased to 10 mg8226;kg1 q.d. if the effect of the first course was not satisfactory. CysA was discontinued if no effect was obtained after 3 months of treatment. However, the drug was discontinued after 6 months of treatment if the effect proved to be good. Serum levels of sIL2R were determined with ELISA before and after the CYPT. Results:The average remission stages were 36.2±3.6 and 11.6±3.8 months, and the remission rates were 72.0% and 26.7% in patients of the treatment group and control group, respectively (P<0.01, P<0.01). The recurrence rates 6, 18 and 48 months after the treatment were significantly lower in patients of the treatment group than those of the control group(P<0.01). The serum sIL2R level was significantly lowered after the CYPT(P<0.05 or 0.01). Conclusion:CYPT was shown to be fairly effective in the treatment of RNS in children and serum sIL2R level may be used as an index to monitor the effect of the drug.