Patient characteristics at baseline and at follow-up
| Characteristic | n (%) |
| Sex | |
| Female | 55 (86) |
| Male | 9 (14) |
| Ethnicity | |
| Caucasian | 56 (87.5) |
| Asian | 3 (4.7) |
| Hispanic | 3 (4.7) |
| African | 2 (3.1) |
| Baseline | Follow-up | |
|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 34.3; 31.7 (18.8–60.7) | 35.0; 32.3 (19.4–61.1) |
| SLE disease duration (years) | 7.3; 3.7 (0–35.6) | |
| Duration of induction therapy | 8.1; 7.7 (5.0–15.6) | |
| Patients on antimalarials (n=64) (n (%)) | 16 (25) | 19 (29.7) |
| Patients on immunosuppressants (n=64) (n (%)) | 22 (34.4) | |
| Azathioprine (n=64) (n (%)) | 14 (21.9) | |
| Methotrexate (n=64) (n (%)) | 4 (6.3) | |
| Mycophenolate mofetil (n=64) (n (%)) | 3 (4.7) | |
| Oral cyclophosphamide (n=64) (n (%)) | 1 (1.6) | |
| Patients given ACE inhibitors and/or ARBs (n (%)) | 50 (78.1) | |
| Baseline | Follow-up | p Value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prednisone dosage (mg/day) | 12.5; 8.8 (0–60, n=64) | 12.2; 10 (0–50, n=64) | 0.609 (n=64) |
| 24 h urinary albumin (g/day) | 2.1; 1.5 (0.04–8.4, n=63) | 0.8; 0.3 (0–4.8, n=64) | <0.001 ↓ (n=63) |
| Plasma creatinine (μmol/L) | 92; 81 (46–284, n=64) | 81; 76 (40–306, n=64) | 0.009 ↓ (n=64) |
| C3 (g/L) | 0.58; 0.54 (0.2–1.13, n=60) | 0.84; 0.8 (0.36–1.51, n=61) | <0.001 ↑ (n=60) |
| C4 (g/L) | 0.1; 0.1 (0.02–0.51, n=60) | 0.15; 0.13 (0.02–0.45, n=61) | <0.001 ↑ (n=60) |
Values are mean; median (range), unless otherwise stated.
Statistically significant p values are in bold type. Upward arrows (↑) signify significant increases; downward arrows (↓) signify significant decreases.
ACE, angiotensin converting enzyme; ARB, angiotensin receptor blocker (angiotensin II receptor antagonist); SLE, systemic lupus erythematosus.