Table 1.
Clinical characteristics of 65 patients treated with initial methylprednisolone use followed by prednisolone (methylprednisolone+prednisolone group) and 60 patients treated with initial prednisolone use (prednisolone group)
| Patient Characteristics | Initial Use of Corticosteroid | P Value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| mPSL+PSLa | PSL | ||
| Number | 65 | 60 | |
| Baseline characteristics at initiating corticosteroid | |||
| Age, yr | 40 [26−59] | 41 [23−64] | 0.67 |
| Men, n (%) | 45 (69.2) | 35 (58.3) | 0.20 |
| Body mass index, kg/m2 | 22.5±2.7 | 23.1±2.8 | 0.24 |
| Systolic BP, mmHg | 118±12 | 125±19 | 0.01 |
| Diastolic BP, mmHg | 71±11 | 74±12 | 0.22 |
| Use of antihypertensives, n (%) | 8 (12.3) | 11 (18.3) | 0.35 |
| Serum creatinine, mg/dl | 0.8 [0.7−1.0] | 0.9 [0.7−1.5] | 0.05 |
| Serum total cholesterol, mg/dl | 374±105 | 389±108 | 0.45 |
| Serum albumin, g/dl | 1.7±0.5 | 1.9±0.6 | 0.07 |
| Urinary protein, g/d | 7.5 [4.1−13.2] | 9.5 [3.9−15.1] | 0.50 |
| Use of intravenous 25% albumin, n (%) | 30 (46.2) | 40 (66.7) | 0.02 |
| Initial PSL dose, mg/kg | 0.75±0.13 | 0.71±0.16 | 0.06 |
| Remission and relapse during observational period | |||
| First remission, n (%) | 65 (100.0) | 58 (96.7) | |
| Time to first remission, db | 11 [8−20] | 19 [12−37] | <0.001 |
| First relapse, n (%)b | 32 (49.2) | 43 (74.1) | 0.01 |
| Time to first relapse, yrc | 1.0 [0.6−1.5] | 0.8 [0.4−1.6] | 0.17 |
| Entire observational period, yr | 3.5 [1.8−6.4] | 4.0 [2.1−7.9] | 0.17 |
| Total number of relapses, n per persond | 0 (0−8) | 1 (0−9) | |
| Incidence of relapse, per person-yrd | 0.0 [0.0−0.5] | 0.5 [0.0−0.7] | 0.007 |
Values are given as mean±SD, median [interquartile range], or median (range). Conversion factors for units: serum creatinine in milligrams per deciliter to moles per liter, ×88.4; serum total cholesterol in milligrams per deciliter to moles per liter, ×0.02586. mPSL, methylprednisolone; PSL, prednisolone.
Including 51 (78.5%) patients with initial use of 1 g/d mPSL for 3 days and 14 (21.5%) patients with initial use of 0.5 g/d PSL for 3 days.
Excluding two patients (PSL group) who were censored without remission after receiving immunosuppressive therapy for 29 and 58 days.
Excluding 50 patients who were censored without relapse after receiving immunosuppressive therapy.
During the entire observational period until censoring.