Background/Purpose: To study the organ damage free survival and its predictive factors in patients with active LN.

Methods: Consecutive patients who fulfilled ≥4 ACR/SLICC criteria for SLE and with biopsy proven active LN between 2003 and 2018 were retrospectivey analyzed.  Those with organ damage before LN onset were excluded.  Data on renal parameters and treatment regimens were collected.  Complete renal response (CR) was defined as normalization of serum creatinine (SCr), urine P/Cr (uPCR) < 0.5 and inactive urinary sediments.  Partial renal response (PR) was defined as ≥50% reduction in uPCR and < 25% increase in SCr.  Organ damage of SLE was assessed by the ACR/SLICC damage index (SDI).  The cumulative risk of having any organ damage or mortality since LN was studied by Kaplan-Meier’s analysis.  Factors associated with a poor outcome were studied by a forward stepwise Cox regression model, with entry of covariates with p< 0.05 and removal with p >0.10.

Results:

273 LN patients were identified but 64 were excluded (organ damage before LN onset).  211 LN patients were studied (92% women; age at SLE 30.4±13.5 years; SLE duration at LN 1.9±3.1years). 47 (22%) patients had nephrotic syndrome and 60 (29%) were hypertensive.  Histological LN classes was: III/IV±V (75.1%), I/II (7.8%) and pure V (17.1%) (histologic activity and chronicity score 7.0±4.2 and 1.8±1.5, respectively).  Induction regimens were: prednisolone (33.1±17.5mg/day) in combination with intravenous cyclophosphamide (CYC) (21.4%; 1.0±0.2g per pulse), oral CYC (8.6%; 96.4±37.8mg/day), azathioprine (AZA) (14.3%; 78.6±25.2mg/day), mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) (22.8%; 1.9±0.43g/day) and tacrolimus (TAC) (17.1%; 4.3±1.1mg/day).  After a follow-up of 8.6±5.4 years, 94(45%) patient developed organ damage (SDI≥1) and 21(10%) patients died.  The commonest organ damage was renal (36.3%) and musculoskeletal (17.9%), and the causes of death were: infection (38.1%), malignancy (19.0%), cardiovascular events (9.5%) and ESRF complications (9.5%).  At last visit, 114 (55%) patients survived without any organ damage.  The cumulative organ damage free survival at 5, 10 and 15 years after renal biopsy was 73.5%, 59.6% and 48.3%, respectively.  The 5, 10 and 15-year renal survival rate were 95.2%, 92.0% and 84.1% respectively. In a Cox regression model, nephritic relapse (HR 3.72[1.78-7.77]), proteinuric relapse (HR 2.30[1.07-4.95]) and older age (HR 1.89[1.05-3.37]) were associated with either organ damage or mortality, whereas CR (HR 0.25[0.12-0.50]) at month 12 were associated with organ damage free survival. Baseline SCr, uPCR and histological LN classes were not significantly associated with a poor outcome.  Among patients with class III/IV LN, the long-term organ damage free survival were not significantly different in users of MMF (reference) from CYC (IV/oral) (HR 1.45[0.76- 2.75]) or TAC (HR 1.03[0.26-1.62]) as induction therapy.

Conclusion: Organ damage free survival is achieved in 55% of patients with active LN upon 9 years of follow-up.  CYC/MMF/TAC based induction regimens did not differ for the long-term outcome of LN.  Targeting complete renal response and preventing renal relapses remain important goals of LN treatment.

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ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/organ-damage-free-survival-in-southern-chinese-patients-with-active-lupus-nephritis/