Table 2.
Associations between MMF use and risk of infection in patients with SLE
| Variable | MMF users (N = 376) | Non-users (N = 2963) | OR (95% CI) | Adjusted OR (95% CI) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No infection | 122 (32.4) | 1640 (55.3) | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| Overall infection | 254 (67.6) | 1323 (44.7) | 2.58 (2.05, 3.24) | 1.90 (1.48, 2.44) |
| Single infection | 206 (54.8) | 1111 (37.5) | 2.49 (1.97, 3.16) | 1.89 (1.46, 2.45) |
| Complex infection | 48 (12.8) | 212 (7.2) | 3.04 (2.12, 4.38) | 2.12 (1.39, 3.23) |
| Bacterial infection | 147 (39.1) | 765 (25.8) | 2.58 (2.00, 3.33) | 2.07 (1.55, 2.75) |
| Urinary tract infection/pyelonephritis | 38 (10.1) | 138 (4.7) | 3.70 (2.47, 5.54) | 3.14 (1.94, 5.11) |
| Pneumonia | 97 (25.8) | 571 (19.3) | 2.28 (1.72, 3.03) | 1.88 (1.36, 2.60) |
| Encephalitis/meningitis | 2 (0.5) | 19 (0.6) | 1.42 (0.33, 6.15) | 0.94 (0.19, 4.55) |
| Endocarditis/myocarditis | 2 (0.5) | 8 (0.3) | 3.36 (0.71, 16.00) | 3.28 (0.59, 18.34) |
| Septic arthritis/osteomyelitis | 0 (0) | 3 (0.1) | – | – |
| Septicemia/bacteremia | 8 (2.1) | 29 (1.0) | 3.71 (1.66, 8.29) | 3.16 (1.29, 7.76) |
| Virus infection | 36 (9.6) | 207 (7.0) | 2.34 (1.57, 3.48) | 1.92 (1.23, 3.01) |
| Herpes zoster | 11 (2.9) | 38 (1.3) | 3.89 (1.94, 7.80) | 2.85 (1.32, 6.15) |
| HCMV infection | 2 (0.5) | 16 (0.5) | 1.68 (0.38, 7.39) | 1.20 (0.24, 6.09) |
| EBV infection | 14 (3.7) | 68 (2.3) | 2.77 (1.51, 5.06) | 2.33 (1.16, 4.70) |
| HPV infection | 0 (0) | 4 (0.1) | – | – |
| Virus hepatitis | 4 (1.1) | 61 (2.1) | 0.88 (0.32, 2.47) | 0.96 (0.32, 2.83) |
| Opportunistic infection | 31 (8.2) | 132 (4.5) | 3.16 (2.05, 4.86) | 2.13 (1.31, 3.46) |
| Tuberculosis | 9 (2.4) | 47 (1.6) | 2.57 (1.23, 5.38) | 2.22 (0.99, 4.99) |
| Systemic mycoses | 22 (5.9) | 89 (3.0) | 3.32 (2.01, 5.49) | 2.13 (1.21, 3.73) |
| Other infections of unknown cause | 63 (16.8) | 318 (10.7) | 2.66 (1.92, 3.69) | 1.73 (1.21, 2.47) |
| Upper respiratory infection | 53 (14.1) | 297 (10.0) | 2.40 (1.70, 3.39) | 1.41 (0.96, 2.06) |
| Skin or mucosal infection | 22 (5.9) | 92 (3.1) | 3.22 (1.95, 5.30) | 2.45 (1.41, 4.26) |
HCMV human cytomegalovirus, EBV Epstein–Barr virus, HPV human papilloma virus, MMF mycophenolate mofetil, OR odds ratio, CI confidence interval. Multivariable analysis models were adjusted for sex (female = 1, male = 0), age (continuous), SLE disease period years (continuous), SLEDAI score on admission (continuous), hypertension (yes = 1, no = 0), diabetes mellitus (yes = 1, no = 0), mean daily prednisone equivalent dose (continuous), CYC treatment (yes = 1, no = 0), TAC treatment (yes = 1, no = 0), and other immunosuppressants (yes = 1, no = 0). Significant values are bolded