Long-term renal outcomes of patients with non-proliferative lupus nephritis

Abstract

Background/Aims Although non-proliferative lupus nephritis (LN) (class I, II or V) has been considered as a less severe type of LN, data on long-term renal prognosis are limited. We investigated the long-term outcomes and prognostic factors in non-proliferative LN. Methods We retrospectively reviewed patients with systemic lupus erythematosus who were diagnosed with LN class I, II, V, or II + V by kidney biopsy from 1997 to 2021. A poor renal outcome was defined as an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of 4 or activity score > 6 were significantly associated with poor renal outcomes. The multivariate analysis revealed that low eGFR at 6 months (HR 0.971, 95% CI 0.949–0.991; p = 0.014) was significantly associated with poor renal outcomes. Conclusions Poor renal outcomes occurred in approximately 30% of patients with non-proliferative LN after long-term follow-up. More active management may be needed for non-proliferative LN, especially for patients with eGFR < 60 mL/ min/1.73 m2 at 6 months follow-up after LN diagnosis.

Keywords

• systemic lupus erythematosus
• lupus nephritis
• renal outcome