Baseline demographics of enrolled rituximab-treated patients before the first dose of rituximab
| Number of patients | 40 | (131 RTX administrations) | |
| Men:women (%) | 6:34 | (0.18) | |
| Age at disease diagnosis, median (IQR) (range), years | 14.3 | (11.3–15.9) (4.6–17.9) | |
| Age (IQR) at first RTX use, median (IQR) (range), years | 20.2 | (16.0–27.3) (9.5–41.4) | |
| First RTX use age ≤18, n (%) patients | 17 | (42.5) | |
| First RTX use age >18, n (%) patients | 23 | (57.5) | |
| Interval from diagnosis to first RTX, median (IQR) (range), years | 6.8 | (2.4–12.3) (0.1–27.1) | |
| Duration of follow-up post-RTX, median (IQR) (range), years | 2.9 | (1.5–3.5) (0.1–7.3) | |
| Number of times of RTX administrations, mean (SD) (range) | 3.3 | (2.2) (1–7) | |
| Times of RTX use=1, n (%) patients | 13 | (32.5) | |
| Times of RTX use >1, n (%) patients | 27 | (67.5) | |
| Laboratory data, median (IQR) | Reference range | ||
| White cell count (x109/L) | 5.71 | (3.83–7.95) | 3.84–11.40 |
| Haemoglobin (g/L) | 111 | (102–124) | 106–145 |
| Platelet (x109/L) | 274 | (212–318) | 175–369 |
| Lymphocyte count (x109/L) | 1.16 | (0.84–1.73) | NA |
| B cell (%) | 13 | (7–20) | 9–20 |
| B cell (x109/L) | 0.12 | (0.05–0.29) | NA |
| IgG (mg/dL) | 1866 | (1223–2750) | 700–1600 |
| C3 (mg/dL) | 62.5 | (44.7–77.1) | 87–200 |
| C4 (mg/dL) | 9.7 | (6.6–12.7) | 10–52 |
| Anti-dsDNA (IU/mL) | 662 | (337–1039) | Negative ≤200, equivocal 201–300, positive ≥301 |
| ESR (mm/hour) | 29 | (16–47) | 2–15 |
| Organ manifestations* at first RTX use, n (%) patients | |||
| Renal | 27 | (67.5) | |
| Haematological | 12 | (30) | |
| Musculoskeletal | 10 | (25) | |
| Neuropsychiatric | 1 | (2.5) | |
| Cardiopulmonary | 0 | (0) | |
| SLEDAI-2K, median (IQR) (range) | 8 | (6–12) (4–32) | |
| Steroid dose, median (IQR) (range), mg/kg/day | 0.2 | (0.2–0.8) (0–2) | |
*The definition of organ manifestations was based on the EULAR/ACR 2019 classification criteria.
ACR, American College of Rheumatology; dsDNA, double stranded DNA; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; EULAR, European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology; NA, not applicable; RTX, rituximab; SLEDAI-2K, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index 2000.