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. 2021 Jul 18;11(7):303–319. doi: 10.5500/wjt.v11.i7.303

Table 2.

Characteristics of included studies evaluating the outcomes of preemptive rituximab

Ref.
Country
Design
n (%)
Population
Age
Rituximab dose and protocol
Concurrent PP
Def of recurrence
Recurrence
Graft survival
Follow-up duration
Quality assessment
Burke et al[22], 2009 United States Retrospective 29 FSGS undergoing KT Age at KT: 6-21 yr N/A No New onset proteinuria 6/18 (33%) vs 8/11 (72%) No significant difference in graft survival N/A Fair, 3-1-2
Sagheshima et al[23], 2010 United States Prospective 40 FSGS undergoing KT Age at KT: 4-24 yr N/A No UPCR > 3.5 post-transplant 8/29 (28%) vs 7/11 (64%) N/A N/A Low, 3-1-1
Fornoni et al[24], 2011 United States Retrospective 41 High-risk pediatric/young adult FSGS undergoing KT: (< 25 yr at FSGS Dx or progression to ESKD within 7 yr) Age at KT: 15 ± 5.5 yr (rituximab), 12.3 ± 5.2 yr (control) One dose of rituximab (375 mg/m2) within 24 h of kidney transplantation No UPCR > 3.5 within 30 d post-transplant or need for PP. Protocol biopsy in 20/27 (74%) 7/27 (26%) vs 9/14 (64%) 1-yr graft survival: 95.8% vs 85.7% (P = 0.26) N/A High, 4-1-3
Miyauchi et al[25], 2011 Japan Prospective 25 FSGS undergoing KT N/A N/A N/A N/A 2/12 (17%) vs 5/13 (38%) N/A N/A Low, 3-1-1
Park et al[26], 2014 South Korea Retrospective 27 FSGS undergoing KT Age at KT: 39 ± 14 yr (n = 7, recurrence), 36 ± 11 yr (n = 20, no recurrence) PP and IVGV infusion after each session of PP prior to transplantation, and RTX (375 mg/m2) was administeredwithin 1 wk prior to transplantation Yes Clinical confirmed by biopsy 1/4 (25%) vs 5/18 (27%) FSGS with recurrence had less graft survival than those without recurrence (P = 0.01) N/A High, 4-1-3
Okumi et al[27], 2015 Japan Retrospective 38 FSGS undergoing KT N/A N/A Yes N/A 5/23 (22%) vs 6/15 (40%) 5/38 graft loss overall. Cr at yr 2 and 6 significantly lower in those who received both R + PP N/A Low, 3-1-1
Futamura et al[28], 2016 Japan Retrospective 28 FSGS undergoing KT N/A N/A Yes N/A 3/7 (43%) vs 5/21 (24%) N/A N/A Low, 3-1-1
Alasfar et al[29], 2018 United States Prospective 64 High-risk FSGS undergoing KT (2 of: white, age ≤ 30 at Dx, progression to ESKD ≤ 5 yr. Albumin < 3 g/dL during disease course, h/o failed KT due to recurrence) Age at FSGS Dx: 29.9 ± 17.2. Age at KT: 38 ± 16.5 Rituximab was given in 1 or 2 doses (375 mg/m2 per dose) Yes; 3-10 sessions of PP day-7 to POD 2 Clinical and biopsy 23/37 (62%) vs 14/27 (51%) Trend toward better renal allograft survival in nonrecurrent group comparedto the recurrent group (P = 0.0662) 29.5 mo High, 4-1-3
Lu et al[30], 2018 United States Retrospective 55 High-risk FSGS undergoing KT considered (age ≤ 25 at Dx, proteinuria ≥ 5 g/d, progression to ESKD ≤ 5-7 yr) Age at KT: 44 One dose of rituximab (375 mg/m2, max 100 mg) No Proteinuria and biopsy 4/7 (57%) vs 6/48 (13%) Graft loss: 1/7 (14%) vs 8/48 (17%) N/A Fair, 3-2-2
Auñón et al[31], 2021 Spain Retrospective, multicenter 34 (93 total cohort) High-risk FSGS undergoing KT considered (hypoalbuminemia and NS at baseline); genetic form excluded Age at KT: 35.0 ± 15.2 (R group), 42.4 ± 12.2 (non-R group) Rituximab, 1 g at induction and 1 g on day 14 after transplantation No Recurrence of proteinuria, confirmed by biopsy 6/12 (50%) vs 9/22 (41%) 53.5% with recurrence vs 88.5% in non-recurrence group N/A High, 4-1-3
Mukku et al[39], 2021 United States Retrospective 18 FSGS undergoing KT Age at KT: 35 yr N/A Yes Recurrence of proteinuria 0/8 vs 3/10 (30%) 8/8 vs 9/10 30 (1-36) mo Low, 3-1-1

N: Number; ESKD: End-stage kidney disease; FSGS: Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis; PP: Plasmapheresis; KT: Kidney transplantation; RTX: Rituximab; N/A: Not available.