Table 2.
Results of univariate analysis of HCQ and DHCQ concentrations
| Category | Total population | HCQ concentration | DHCQ concentration | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (n = 272) | Low (n = 158) | High (n = 114) | P value | Low (n = 176) | High (n = 96) | P value | |
| Gender, n (%) | 0.039 | 0.013 | |||||
| Female | 240 (88.24) | 134 (84.81) | 106 (92.98) | 149 (84.66) | 91 (94.79) | ||
| Male | 32 (11.76) | 24 (15.19) | 8 (7.02) | 27 (15.34) | 5 (5.21) | ||
| Age, years, n (%) | 0.041 | 0.055 | |||||
| < 50 | 190 (69.85) | 118 (74.68) | 72 (63.16) | 116 (65.91) | 74 (77.08) | ||
| ≥ 50 | 82 (30.15) | 40 (25.32) | 42 (36.84) | 60 (34.09) | 22 (22.92) | ||
| Weight, kg | 60.07 (13.20) | 61.56 (13.99) | 58.02 (11.77) | 0.029 | 61.08 (13.92) | 58.23 (11.61) | 0.089 |
| BMI, kg/m2, n (%) | 0.995 | 0.306 | |||||
| < 24 kg/m2 | 179 (65.81) | 104 (65.82) | 75 (65.79) | 112 (63.64) | 67 (69.79) | ||
| ≥ 24 kg/m2 | 93 (34.19) | 54 (34.18) | 39 (34.21) | 64 (36.36) | 29 (30.21) | ||
| Duration, n (%) | < 0.001 | < 0.001 | |||||
| < 6 months | 151 (55.51) | 102 (64.56) | 49 (42.98) | 113 (64.21) | 38 (39.58) | ||
| 6–12 months | 39 (14.34) | 26 (16.45) | 13 (11.40) | 26 (14.77) | 13 (13.54) | ||
| > 12 months | 82 (30.15) | 30 (18.99) | 52 (45.62) | 37 (21.02) | 45 (46.88) | ||
| Glucocorticoids, n (%) | 0.593 | 0.983 | |||||
| With | 235 (86.40) | 138 (87.34) | 97 (85.09) | 152 (86.36) | 83 (86.46) | ||
| Without | 37 (13.60) | 20 (12.66) | 17 (14.91) | 24 (13.64) | 13 (13.54) | ||
| Immunosuppressants, n (%) | 0.698 | 0.676 | |||||
| With | 135 (49.63) | 80 (50.63) | 55 (48.25) | 89 (50.57) | 46 (47.92) | ||
| Without | 137 (50.37) | 78 (49.37) | 59 (51.75) | 87 (49.43) | 50 (52.08) | ||
| SLEDAI, n (%) | < 0.001 | 0.003 | |||||
| ≤ 4 | 209 (76.84) | 103 (65.19) | 106 (92.98) | 124 (70.45) | 85 (88.54) | ||
| 5–9 | 61 (22.43) | 53 (33.54) | 8 (7.02) | 50 (28.41) | 11 (11.46) | ||
| 10–14 | 2 (0.73) | 2 (1.27) | 0 (0) | 2 (1.14) | 0 (0) | ||
| Anti-ds DNA, n (%) | 0.079 | 0.784 | |||||
| Positive | 85 (31.25) | 56 (35.44) | 29 (25.44) | 56 (31.82) | 29 (30.21) | ||
| Negative | 187 (68.75) | 102 (64.56) | 85 (74.56) | 120 (68.18) | 67 (69.79) | ||
| WBC, × 109/l | 6.41 (3.11) | 6.15 (2.98) | 6.77 (3.26) | 0.104 | 6.25 (3.22) | 6.71 (2.91) | 0.246 |
| Platelet, × 109/l | 194.17 (96.69) | 175.70 (87.81) | 219.76 (102.81) | < 0.001 | 172.68 (91.21) | 233.56 (94.44) | < 0.001 |
| RBC, × 1012/l | 3.59 (0.76) | 3.51 (0.74) | 3.70 (0.78) | 0.046 | 3.59 (0.75) | 3.59 (0.79) | 0.979 |
| NEUT% | 69.19 (12.88) | 69.74 (13.58) | 68.43 (11.86) | 0.412 | 69.22 (12.68) | 69.12 (13.31) | 0.951 |
| LY% | 22.43 (11.03) | 21.93 (11.52) | 23.13 (10.33) | 0.377 | 22.21 (10.54) | 22.82 (11.93) | 0.664 |
| ALT, U/l | 25.02 (36.89) | 24.52 (21.09) | 25.72 (51.43) | 0.791 | 28.40 (44.89) | 18.83 (10.55) | 0.008 |
| AST, U/l | 24.02 (31.06) | 21.87 (14.02) | 26.99 (45.00) | 0.242 | 25.69 (36.35) | 20.94 (17.41) | 0.229 |
| Albumin, g/l | 34.56 (5.86) | 34.55 (5.85) | 34.58 (5.89) | 0.971 | 35.12 (5.66) | 33.54 (6.09) | 0.034 |
| TC, mmol/l | 4.52 (1.41) | 4.47 (1.12) | 4.59 (1.74) | 0.515 | 4.40 (1.08) | 4.74 (1.86) | 0.106 |
| TG, mmol/l | 1.88 (1.16) | 1.88 (1.11) | 1.89 (1.22) | 0.942 | 1.81 (1.09) | 2.01 (1.27) | 0.195 |
| HDL-C, mmol/l | 1.24 (0.39) | 1.20 (0.40) | 1.29 (0.37) | 0.055 | 1.22 (0.39) | 1.26 (0.39) | 0.432 |
| LDL-C, mmol/l | 2.49 (1.10) | 2.45 (0.92) | 2.54 (1.31) | 0.509 | 2.39 (0.88) | 2.65 (1.40) | 0.101 |
| BUN, mmol/l | 7.12 (4.64) | 6.81 (3.74) | 7.55 (5.64) | 0.222 | 6.50 (3.40) | 8.26 (6.16) | 0.010 |
| CR, umol/l | 74.97 (86.69) | 66.89 (47.93) | 86.17 (120.89) | 0.109 | 62.26 (39.08) | 98.26 (133.33) | 0.011 |
| eGFR, ml/min/1.73 m2 | 122.99 (50.85) | 126.34 (49.48) | 118.34 (52.55) | 0.201 | 128.55 (48.96) | 112.80 (52.89) | 0.014 |
| CRP, mg/l | 7.32 (10.65) | 6.82 (10.68) | 8.02 (10.61) | 0.359 | 6.21 (9.90) | 9.36 (11.68) | 0.026 |
| Complement C3, g/l | 0.91 (0.30) | 0.85 (0.29) | 1.00 (0.27) | < 0.001 | 0.90 (0.31) | 0.94 (0.26) | 0.271 |
| Complement C4, g/l | 0.17 (0.09) | 0.15 (0.08) | 0.20 (0.08) | < 0.001 | 0.15 (0.08) | 0.20 (0.09) | < 0.001 |
| IgG, g/l | 13.19 (6.36) | 13.95 (5.92) | 12.14 (6.81) | 0.021 | 14.01 (5.87) | 11.70 (6.95) | 0.004 |
| IgA, g/l | 2.64 (1.57) | 2.75 (1.73) | 2.49 (1.31) | 0.178 | 2.76 (1.71) | 2.43 (1.26) | 0.106 |
| IgM, g/l | 1.38 (1.48) | 1.47 (1.65) | 1.26 (1.21) | 0.239 | 1.49 (1.67) | 1.20 (1.05) | 0.128 |
| ESR, mm/h | 27.89 (22.66) | 28.96 (22.48) | 26.40 (22.92) | 0.360 | 28.30 (22.54) | 27.14 (22.99) | 0.687 |
Values are mean with SD in parentheses or number of patients with percentage in parentheses. Significant P values are in bold
HCQ hydroxychloroquine, DHCQ desethylhydroxychloroquine, BMI body mass index; Duration duration of HCQ use, SLEDAI systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity index, Anti-ds DNA anti-double-stranded DNA, WBC white blood cell, RBC red blood cell, NEUT% neutrophil percent, LY% lymphocyte percent, ALT alanine transaminase, AST aspartate transaminase, TC total cholesterol, TG triglyceride, HDL-C high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, LDL-C low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, BUN blood urea nitrogen, CR creatinine, eGFR estimated glomerular filtration rate, CRP C-reactive protein, IgG immunoglobulin G, IgA immunoglobulin A, IgM immunoglobulin M, ESR erythrocyte sedimentation rate