P0443one Year After Proteinuria in Lupus Nephritis: Euro Lupus vs Mycophenolate, a Single-Center Experience

Abstract

Background and Aims Lupus nephritis (LN) develops in about 50% of patients affected by Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) and it is associated with higher morbidity and mortality risk. Approximately 10 % of LN patients is expected to reach end stage renal disease (ESRD). Proteinuria at 1 year has been demonstrated as the best predictor factor of long-term renal outcome. We compared the effects of two different induction therapies (Euro Lupus protocol [EL] vs Mycophenolate [MMF]) in terms of eGFR, proteinuria, serum albumin and complement activation in LN patients related to our centre. Method We retrospectively reviewed the records of 34 adult patients with LN from 2011 to 2019. Patients were divided in two groups according to therapeutic strategy chosen: EL (n=21 patients, group 1) and MMF (n=13, group 2). Data with normal distribution are expressed as average ± standard deviation, while data with non normal distribution are referred to as median and interquartile range [IQR]. Basal values of eGFR, proteinuria, albumin and complement were compared to 1 year values with Student t-test for normal variables or with Wilcoxon test for non normal variables. Results The mean age of the patients was 41.27±17.43 years, there was a predominance of female (85,3%) LN was diagnosed at 32±16 years old. According to LN classification, 88.2% of them was affected by III, IV, V and mixed LN class Basal values of eGFR (estimated with CKD-EPI method) were similar between groups 1 and 2 (86.12±52.86 vs 73.75±30.35, P=0.4890) as well as proteinuria (2.00 [0.48-4.57] vs 0.71 [0.28-1.39] g/24h, P=0.3284). After one year of follow up, eGFR did not show significant differences between two groups, while proteinuria was significantly lower in group 1 (2.)). 00 [0.48-4.57] vs 0.44 [0.19-0.91] g/24h, P=0.0034) than in group 2 (0.71 [0.28-1.39] vs 0.15 [0.08-0.77] g/24h, P=0.4687) (fig.1). Moreover, we recorded in group 1 higher values of albumin after one year of follow up (3.20 [2.52-3.94] vs 4.33 [3.99-4.57] g/dl, P=0.0195) (fig.2) and C3 consumption (35.00 [1.00-81.25] vs 89.00 [2.00-112.50] mg/dl, P=0.0067) (fig.3), while group 2 did not show any statistically significant differences. Conclusion In patients affected by LN, EL protocol demonstrated to be more effective than MMF in reducing one year after proteinuria, thus improving albumin and C3 serum titer.