ArticleLupus science & medicine2017
The use of rituximab in newly diagnosed patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: long-term steroid saving capacity and clinical effectiveness.
Article in Lupus science & medicine, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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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.
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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
18 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 41 citations in OpenAlex.
- Predictive and prognostic factors influencing outcomes of rituximab therapy in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE): A systematic review.Seminars in arthritis and rheumatism · 2017Pooled it
- Catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome with eosinophilia mimicking hypereosinophilic syndromes with disseminated intravascular coagulation: a case report.Journal of medical case reports · 2026Article
- Rituximab as the first-line treatment in newly diagnosed systemic lupus erythematosus.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Article
- Disease-modifying therapies in systemic lupus erythematosus for extrarenal manifestations.Lupus science & medicine · 2024Review
- The role of mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosome in epigenetic modifications in inflammatory diseases.Frontiers in immunology · 2023Review
- Promising Experimental Treatments for Lupus Nephritis: Key Talking Points and Potential Opportunities.Research and reports in urology · 2023Review
- Off-label use of rituximab in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus with extrarenal disease activity: a retrospective study and literature review.Frontiers in medicine · 2023Article
- Can we predict if patients with SLE will require more than one cycle of rituximab?Rheumatology (Oxford, England) · 2022Article
- The landscape of systemic lupus erythematosus in Brazil: An expert panel review and recommendations.Lupus · 2021Review
- Article
- Certain perspectives about the use of corticosteroids for managing hospitalized patients with rheumatic diseases.Clinical rheumatology · 2020Review
- Anti-vimentin antibodies: a unique antibody class associated with therapy-resistant lupus nephritis.Lupus · 2020Article
- Identification of Compounds With Glucocorticoid Sparing Effects on Suppression of Chemokine and Cytokine Production by Rheumatoid Arthritis Fibroblast-Like Synoviocytes.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2020Article
- Rituximab in kidney disease and transplant.Animal models and experimental medicine · 2019Review
- New therapeutic strategies in systemic lupus erythematosus management.Nature reviews. Rheumatology · 2019Review
- Assessment of Response to B-Cell Depletion Using Rituximab in Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus.JAMA dermatology · 2018Observational
- Outcomes of rituximab therapy in refractory lupus: A meta-analysis.European journal of rheumatology · 2018Article
- B Cell-Based Treatments in SLE: Past Experience and Current Directions.Current rheumatology reports · 2017Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPrevious reports indicate that treating patients with lupus (SLE) at or close to the time of diagnosis successfully without using any, or minimal, corticosteroids by using B-cell depletion (BCD) is possible in the short-term. It is not however known whether using BCD is as effective or reduces corticosteroid use in the long-term. We report the long-term (up to 7 years) use of BCD with respect to its steroid-saving capacity and clinical effectiveness in newly diagnosed SLE.
methodsSixteen female patients with SLE were treated at, or shortly after diagnosis, with BCD therapy (BCDT) minimising the routine use of oral steroids. Post-treatment, most patients were given hydroxychloroquine (n=14) and azathioprine (n=10). The British Isles Lupus Assessment Group (BILAG) disease activity index was used for clinical assessment. Serum antidouble-stranded DNA (dsDNA) antibodies, complement (C3), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), circulating B lymphocytes (CD19
resultsAll patients given rituximab achieved BCD. The mean number of flares during follow-up (new BILAG A or B) was 2.63 (SD 3) in the BCDT group and 4 (SD 3.6) in the controls (NS, p=0.14). Post-BCDT, mean anti-dsDNA antibody level fell from 1114 U/mL (SD 1699.3) to 194 (SD 346.7) at 18 months (p=0.043), mean serum ESR fell by >70% at 6 months maintained during follow-up and serum C3 level normalised in 8 patients. The mean cumulative prednisolone dose at 60 months for the patients who underwent BCDT (n=11) was 4745.67 mg (SD 6090 mg) vs 12 553.92 mg (SD 12 672 mg) for the controls (p=0.01).
conclusionsEarly treatment of patients with SLE with BCDT is safe, effective and enables a reduction in steroid use.
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