Hou 2017.

Methods	Study design: parallel, 2‐arm RCT Time frame: December 2010 to April 2013 Duration of follow‐up: 12 months
Participants	Setting: multicentre (5 sites) Country: China Inclusion criteria: biopsy‐proven IgAN, with active proliferative lesions (cellular and fibrocellular crescents, endocapillary hypercellularity, or necrosis), proteinuria with protein excretion ≥ 1.0 g/24 hours, and eGFR > 30 mL/min/1.73 m2 Number (analysed/enrolled): treatment group (86/87); control group (88/89) Mean age, range (years): treatment group (30.5, 25 to 37); control group (32.5, 25 to 43) Sex (M/F): treatment group (39/47); control group (38/50) Exclusion criteria: IgAN from a secondary cause and with eGFR < 30 mL/min/1.73 m2
Interventions	Treatment group MMF: 1.5 g/day for 6 months Control group Prednisone: 0.8 to 1 mg/kg/day for 2 months and then tapered by 20% each month for the next 4 months Co‐interventions Prednisone (0.4 to 0.6 mg/kg/day) for 2 months and then tapered by 20% each month for the next 4 months and stopped at 6 months
Outcomes	Complete remission (proteinuria becoming undetectable, with a stable SCr level (defined as not > 25% above the baseline) Partial remission (protein excretion > 0.4 to < 1.0 g/24 hours, serum albumin level ≥ 35 g/L, and stable SCr level (defined as not > 25% above baseline) Relapse (remission (complete or partial) followed by proteinuria with protein excretion > 1.0 g/24 hours on 2 consecutive measurements)
Notes	The trial was funded by the National Key Technology R&D Program (2013BAI09B04, 2015BAI12B05) Trials registration identification number: nCT01269021
Risk of bias
Bias	Authors' judgement	Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias)	Unclear risk	Hangzhou Tigermed Consulting Co Ltd created the randomisation list
Allocation concealment (selection bias)	Unclear risk	Sequentially numbered concealed envelopes containing group assignments were provided to investigators. Not stated if envelopes were opaque
Blinding of participants and personnel (performance bias) All outcomes	High risk	Open‐label study
Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias) All outcomes	Low risk	The outcomes were adjudicated by an independent Clinical End Points Committee, blinded to the treatment regimen
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes	Low risk	1/87 in treatment group not included in primary analysis. 1/89 in control group not included in primary analysis
Selective reporting (reporting bias)	High risk	There was no pre‐specified protocol identified for this study. The study did not report extractable data for the key outcomes that would be expected for a study of this type (e.g., death (any cause), ESKD, GFR loss, infection)
Other bias	Low risk	The study appears to be free of other sources of bias