ABSTRACT
Objective
To evaluate the therapeutic response to induction treatment in lupus nephritis patients.
Methods
A total of 29 patients diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus and biopsy-proven nephritis were divided into two groups, one with hypertensive individuals and another non-hypertensive patients. The hypertensive patients included were on drugs with antiproteinuric effect. The induction treatment comprised mycophenolate mofetil or cyclophosphamide, based on 24-hour proteinuria and serum creatinine parameters for therapeutic evaluation after 6 months of intervention. The retrospective evaluation of the follow-up was made based on information collected from the medical records.
Results
Patients with and without hypertension presented similar behaviors of proteinuria (p=0.127) and creatinine (p=0.514) over time. For proteinuria, only the time effect (p=0.007), but not hypertensive effect (p=0.232), was found. There was a reduction in proteinuria levels (reduction by 3.28g/24 hours, on average) from the beginning to the final measurement. As to creatinine, no hypertensive (p=0.757) or time (p=0.154) effects were found.
Conclusion
Similarity in behavior of proteinuria was observed, after induction treatment for nephritis, taking into account the hypertensive effect. The prior condition did not hinder these patients reaching the recommended proteinuria goal.
Lupus nephritis; Proteinuria; Renal insufficiency, chronic; Hypertension; Renin-angiotensin system