SynthesisInternational urology and nephrology2016
The effect of calcineurin inhibitors in the induction and maintenance treatment of lupus nephritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in International urology and nephrology, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy and safety of calcineurin inhibitor therapy in lupus nephritis: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Pooled it
- Immunosuppressive treatment for proliferative lupus nephritis.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2018Pooled it
- Treatment for lupus nephritis: an overview of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.Rheumatology international · 2017Pooled it
- Tacrolimus associated with lower infection risk compared to conventional immunosuppressants in systemic lupus erythematosus: real-world evidence.Clinical rheumatology · 2026Article
- Refractory lupus nephritis: current Understanding and emerging treatment strategies.Clinical and experimental medicine · 2025Review
- Mechanism of tacrolimus in the treatment of lupus nephritis.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Review
- Voclosporin: a novel calcineurin inhibitor with no impact on mycophenolic acid levels in patients with SLE.Nephrology, dialysis, transplantation : official publication of the European Dialysis and Transplant Association - European Renal Association · 2022Article
- Induction and Maintenance Treatment of Lupus Nephritis: A Comprehensive Review of Meta-Analyses.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Review
- New Insights Into an Overlooked Entity: Long-Term Outcomes of Membranous Lupus Nephritis From a Single Institution Inception Cohort.Frontiers in medicine · 2022Article
- Calcineurin and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: The Rationale for Using Calcineurin Inhibitors in the Treatment of Lupus Nephritis.International journal of molecular sciences · 2021Review
- An Update on the Diagnosis and Management of Lupus Nephritis.Current rheumatology reports · 2020Review
- Off-label use of tacrolimus in children with glomerular disease: Effectiveness, safety and pharmacokinetics.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2020Review
- Overview of pathophysiology and treatment of human lupus nephritis.Current opinion in rheumatology · 2016Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeTo evaluate the efficacy and safety of the calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs) cyclosporine (CyA) and tacrolimus (TAC) in the induction and maintenance treatment of lupus nephritis (LN).
methodsThe Cochrane library, PubMed, Embase, and CENTRAL databases were searched and reviewed up to February 2015. Randomized controlled trials were analyzed using RevMan 5.2 software.
resultsTen randomized controlled trials were selected and included in this study according to our inclusion and exclusion criteria, and six were included in the meta-analysis. The analysis results indicated that, in induction treatment, no statistically significant difference was observed in the rates of complete remission (CR), partial remission (PR), or response between the CNIs and intravenous cyclophosphamide (ivCYC). However, the rates of adverse events such as infection (RR 0.65, P = 0.04), leukocytopenia (RR 0.32, P = 0.04), and menstruation disorder (RR 0.37, P = 0.01) following the use of the CNIs were remarkably lower than those after ivCYC. No differences in the CR, PR, infection, or leukocytopenia rates were observed between the CNIs and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF). In the maintenance treatment period, the relapse rate between the CNIs and azathioprine (AZA) was similar (RR 0.44, P = 0.27), while the leukocytopenia rate was lower with the CNIs (RR 0.26, P = 0.0005).
conclusionThe efficacy of the CNIs CyA and TAC in induction therapy for lupus nephritis is comparable to ivCYC and MMF, and they are much safer than ivCYC. CNI treatment during the maintenance period was also as effective as AZA treatment, with a much lower risk of adverse effects. The CNIs CyA and TAC should be recommended for both induction and maintenance therapy of LN.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.