Table 1.
Baseline patient characteristics
| SLE only n=86 |
LN n=87 |
P value | |
| Gender¶ | 0.007 | ||
| Male | 5 (6%) | 17 (20%) | |
| Female | 81 (94%) | 70 (80%) | |
| Age (years),§ mean (SD) | 42.9 (15.5) | 39.8 (15.7) | 0.20 |
| Location¶ | 0.32 | ||
| Metropolitan | 49 (57%) | 56 (64%) | |
| Regional | 37 (43%) | 31 (36%) | |
| AASTI status¶ | 0.64 | ||
| Non-ATSI | 78 (91%) | 77 (89%) | |
| ATSI | 8 (9%) | 10 (11%) | |
| SLEDAI score*, median (IQR) | 2 (0–4) | 8 (4–16) | <0.001 |
| SLE comorbidity index*, median (IQR) | 0 (0–0) | 2 (2–5) | <0.001 |
| eGFR¶ | 0.002 | ||
| ≥90 | 50 (58%) | 35 (40%) | |
| 60 | 22 (26%) | 18 (21%) | |
| 30–59 | 5 (6%) | 18 (21%) | |
| 15–29 | 0 (0%) | 7 (8%) | |
| <15 | 9 (10%) | 9 (10%) | |
| Total number of immunosuppressant agents,*† median (IQR) | 2.0 (1.0–2.0) | 3.0 (2.0–3.0) | <0.001 |
| Total number of immunosuppressant agents†¶ | <0.001 | ||
| 0 | 10 (12%) | 3 (3%) | |
| 1 | 31 (36%) | 7 (8%) | |
| 2 | 30 (35%) | 22 (25%) | |
| 3+ | 15 (17%) | 55 (63%) | |
| Prednisone (n=169)¶ | 37 (44%) | 72 (85%) | <0.001 |
| Prednisone (total daily dose or equivalent, mg),* median (IQR) | 0.0 (0.0–5.0) | 5.0 (3.0–15.0) | <0.001 |
| Hydroxychloroquine¶ | 68 (79%) | 69 (79%) | 0.97 |
| Mycophenolate¶ | 3 (3%) | 45 (52%) | <0.001 |
| Cyclophosphamide‡ | 3 (3%) | 26 (30%) | <0.001 |
| Azathioprine¶ | 9 (10%) | 20 (23%) | 0.027 |
| Cyclosporine¶ | 0 (0%) | 3 (3%) | 0.25 |
| Methotrexate¶ | 16 (19%) | 6 (7%) | 0.021 |
| Leflunomide‡ | 3 (3%) | 1 (1%) | 0.37 |
| Rituximab‡ | 0 (0%) | 1 (1%) | 1.00 |
| Tacrolimus‡ | 0 (0%) | 5 (6%) | 0.059 |
| Creatinine* (µmol/L, n=166), median (IQR) | 64 (52–70) | 78 (59–113) | <0.001 |
| Urine protein:creatinine ratio* (n=118), median (IQR) | 9 (3–16) | 84 (16–302) | <0.001 |
| Lupus duration* (years, n=165), median (IQR) | 6.0 (1.9–14.7) | 6.6 (1.7–12.6) | 0.98 |
| Lupus nephritis class | |||
| Class I | 1 (1%) | ||
| Class II | 4 (5%) | ||
| Class III | 18 (21%) | ||
| Class IV | 33 (38%) | ||
| Class V | 11 (13%) | ||
| Class III, class V | 5 (6%) | ||
| Class IV, class V | 3 (3%) | ||
| Unknown | 12 (14%) | ||
| Biopsy proven | |||
| No | 7 (8%) | ||
| Yes | 76 (87%) | ||
| Unknown | 4 (5%) | ||
| Median time from biopsy to index visit (IQR) (years, n=76) | 0.8 (0.1–5.9) |
*Mann-Whitney U test.
†Total number of immunosuppressant agents includes prednisone.
‡Fisher’s exact test.
§Student t-test.
¶χ2 test.
ATSI, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate; LN, lupus nephritis; SLEDAI, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index.