Table 1.
Demographic, laboratory, and clinical characteristics of the different patient groups.a, b
| Clinical parameter | SLE | DC | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SLE-active nephritis | SLE-renal | SLE-non-renal | ||
| Patients (number) | 24 | 34 | 8 | 14 |
| Age (years) | 33 (16) (24) | 33 (12) (34) | 36 (7) (8) | 36 (26) (14) |
| Female: male ratio | 18 : 6 (24) | 27 : 7 (34) | 8 : 0 (8) | 14 : 0 (14) |
| Laboratory data | ||||
| Leukocyte (109/I) | 7.26 (4.92) (24) | 6.47 (5.47) (34) | 6.73 (5.80) (8) | 9.33 (9.28) (13) |
| Neutrophil (109/I) | 5.27 (4.62) (16) | 4.27 (5.52) (23) | 4.48 (5.82) (5) | 7.45 (6.62) (6) |
| Lymphocyte (109/I)†, §§ | 0.76 (0.71) (16) | 0.64 (0.65) (23) | 1.45 (1.30) (5) | 2.12 (1.65) (6) |
| Hemoglobin (g/I)††, §§ | 95 (24) (24) | 99 (24) (34) | 115 (33) (8) | 117 (18) (13) |
| Platelet count (109/I) | 210 (180) (24) | 199 (145) (34) | 252 (334) (8) | 198 (159) (13) |
| Serum creatinine (μmoI/I)††, §§ | 124 (283) (24) | 106 (160) (34) | 71 (9) (8) | 62 (88) (14) |
| Serum albumin(g/I)∗∗, ††, &, §§ | 28 (8) (23) | 30 (8) (31) | 43 (3) (7) | 41 (7) (12) |
| 24-hour Ccr (mL/sec) | 0.72 (1.32) (20) | 0.89 (1.29) (24) | 1.09 (—) (3) | 4.91 (0.27) (7) |
| 24-hour urine protein (g/day)∗∗, ††, &, §§ | 2.82 (7.59) (23) | 2.26 (4.64) (33) | 0.06 (0.05) (8) | 0.04 (0.11) (13) |
| ESR 1 hour (mm) | 44 (32) (16) | 49 (30) (22) | 31 (46) (5) | 30 (46) (10) |
| C3 (g/I)∗, ††, #, §§ | 0.56 (0.47) (23) | 0.60 (0.54) (31) | 0.80 (0.37) (8) | 1.24 (0.41) (12) |
| C4 (g/I) | 0.13 (0.16) (18) | 0.14 (0.15) (26) | 0.13 (0.13) (8) | 0.19 (0.10) (13) |
| Positive anti-dsDNA†, § | 12/24 (50) | 15/32 (46.9) | 3/8 (37.5) | 0/7 (0) |
| Disease activity | ||||
| Total SLEDAI∗∗, & | 15 (10) (23) | 14 (10) (29) | 8 (5) (8) | — |
| Extrarenal SLEDAI | 4 (4) (23) | 4 (7) (29) | 8 (5) (8) | — |
| Renal SLEDAI∗∗, & | 12 (4) (23) | 8 (8) (32) | 0 (0) (8) | — |
| Proteinuria >0.5 g/day∗∗, & | 19/23 (82.6) | 29/33 (87.9) | 0/8 (0) | — |
| Hematuria∗∗, & | 20/24 (83.3) | 20/33 (60.6) | 0/8 (0) | — |
| Pyuria* | 10/24 (41.7) | 10/33 (30.3) | 0/8 (0) | — |
| Urinary casts | 9/24 (37.5) | 9/33 (27.3) | 0/8 (0) | — |
| Clinical features | ||||
| Active nephritis | 24/24 (100) | 24/34 (70.6) | 0/8 (0) | 0/14 (0) |
| Leukopenia | 1/24 (4.2) | 5/34 (14.7) | 1/8 (12.5) | 0/13 (0) |
| Lymphopenia†, §§ | 13/16 (81.3) | 19/23 (82.6) | 3/5 (60) | 1/6 (16.7) |
| Thrombocytopenia | 2/24 (8.3) | 3/34 (8.8) | 0/8 (0) | 0/13 (0) |
| Low complement†, § | 20/24 (83.3) | 27/33 (81.8) | 5/8 (62.5) | 6/14 (42.9) |
| Arthritis | 1/24 (4.2) | 2/34 (5.9) | 0/8 (0) | — |
| Rash | 5/24 (20.8) | 8/34 (23.5) | 2/8 (25) | — |
| Serositis | 2/24 (8.3) | 2/34 (5.9) | 0/8 (0) | — |
| CNS involvement | 3/24 (12.5) | 5/34 (14.7) | 2/8 (25) | — |
| Vasculitis | 1/24 (4.2) | 3/34 (8.8) | 2/8 (25) | — |
| Disease duration (years) | 3.5 (7.5) (24) | 5.0 (9.5) (34) | 3.1 (3.8) (8) | — |
| Drug treatment | ||||
| Steroids††, §§ | 24/24 (100) | 34/34 (100) | 8/8 (100) | 9/14 (64.3) |
| Daily prednisolone or equivalent dosage (mg/day)c †, § | 18.4 (17) (24) | 18 (14) (34) | 13 (20) (8) | 7 (20) (13) |
| Hydroxychloroquine | 22/24 (91.7) | 30/34 (88.2) | 8/8 (100) | 12/14 (85.7) |
| Azathioprine | 6/24 (25) | 11/34 (32.4) | 0/8 (0) | 3/14 (21.4) |
| Mycophenolate mofetil | 1/24 (4.2) | 2/34 (5.9) | 0/8 (0) | 0/14 (0) |
| Cyclophosphamide | 4/24 (16.7) | 4/34 (11.8) | 2/8 (25) | 1/14 (7.1) |
| Aspirin or NSAIDs | 9/24 (37.5) | 14/34 (41.2) | 6/8 (75) | 7/14 (50) |
| ACEIs or ARBs∗, ††, § | 10/24 (41.7) | 12/34 (35.3) | 0/8 (0) | 0/14 (0) |
| Pulse therapyd | 11/24 (45.8) | 12/34 (35.3) | 3/8 (37.5) | 3/14 (21.4) |
aIn continuous variables, data are shown as median (IQR) (number). In categorical variables, data are shown as number (percent).
b∗ P < 0.05 and **P < 0.01 for SLE-active nephritis group versus SLE non-renal group; †P < 0.05 and ††P < 0.01 for SLE-active nephritis group versus DC group; #P < 0.01 for SLE-non-renal group versus DC group; ∗∗&< 0.01 for SLE-renal group versus SLE-non-renal group; §P < 0.05 and §§P < 0.01 for SLE-renal group versus DC group.
cThe mean daily dosage of prednisolone or its equivalent during the preceding 30 days.
dNumbers of patients who were treated by methylprednisolone or cyclophosphamide pulse therapy during the preceding 30 days.
SLE: systemic lupus erythematosus; DC: disease control; Ccr: creatinine clearance; ESR: erythrocyte sedimentation rate; C3: complement 3; C4: complement 4; anti-dsDNA: anti-double stranded DNA; SLEDAI: SLE Disease Activity Index; CNS: central nervous system; NSAIDs: nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; ACEIs: angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors; ARBs: angiotensin II receptor antagonists; IQR: interquartile range.