Overview of the studies fulfilling the predefined selection criteria for analysis of tacrolimus-based regimens in patients with lupus nephritis
| Type of study | Quality score (0–9)* | No. of patients | Time to end point | Treatment regimen | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Induction with duo therapy | |||||
| Chen et al18 | RCT | 5 | 81 | 6 months | TAC: blood concentration of 5–10 ng/mL Pred: initial dose 1 mg/kg/day (max. 60 mg/day) tapered until 10 mg/day |
| Li et al19 | RCT | 4 | 60 | 6 months | TAC: blood concentration of 6–8 ng/mL Pred: initial dose 1 mg/kg/day (max. 60 mg/day), tapered until 10 mg/day |
| Mok et al8 | RCT | 4 | 150 | 6 months | TAC: 0.1 mg/kg/day reduced to 0.06 mg/kg/day at 3 months if clinical response is satisfactory Pred: initial dose 0.6 mg/kg/day for 6 weeks, tapered until <10 mg/day |
| Induction with triple therapy | |||||
| Bao et al20 | RCT | 5 | 40 | 6 months | TAC: blood concentration of 5–7 ng/mL MMF: 1.0 g/day, (AUC) 20–45 mg hour/L Intravenous methylprednisone: 0.5 g/day for 3 days Pred: pred 0.6–0.8 mg/kg/day for 4 weeks, tapered until maintenance dose 10 mg/day |
| Liu et al9 | RCT | 5 | 362 | 6 months | TAC: adjusted according to blood concentration measured throughout the study MMF: according to AUC measured throughout the study Pred: similar between treatment groups, gradually tapered |
| Maintenance with duo therapy | |||||
| Chen et al21 | RCT | 4 | 70 | 6 months | TAC: blood concentrations of 4–6 ng/mL Pred: 10 mg/day |
| Induction and maintenance with duo therapy | |||||
| Yap et al22 | CCS | NA | 16 | 24 months | TAC: blood concentration of 6–8 ng/mL in the first 6 months; 5–5.9 ng/mL in the next 6 months; 3.0–4.9 ng/mL in the last year Pred: 0.8 mg/kg/day (maximum 50 mg/day), tapered to 7.5 mg/day until end of study (in patients <50 kg reduced to 5 mg/day) |
| Wang et al23 | CCS | NA | 40 | 12 months | TAC: blood concentration of 6–8 ng/mL during induction, 4–6 ng/mL during maintenance Pred: 0.8 mg/kg/day (maximum 50 mg/day), tapered until 10–15 mg/day during maintenance |
*Quality assessed with the Delphi score.
AUC, area under curve; CCS, case-control study; MMF, mycophenolate mofetil; NA, not applicable; pred, prednisone; RCT, randomised controlled trial; TAC, tacrolimus.