Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37006280›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in immunology2023

Treatment of refractory lupus nephritis using leflunomide: A prospective study.

Shuo Zhang, Yiran Chen, Xin Chen, Yan Zhao, Xiaofeng Zeng, Fengchun Zhang, Li Wang, Mengtao Li

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in immunology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.2field-weighted citation impact, top 45% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Shuo ZhangDepartment of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, National Clinical Research Center for Dermatologic and Immunologic Diseases, Ministry of Science and Technology, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Key Laboratory of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Ministry of Education, Beijing, China.
Yiran ChenDepartment of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, National Clinical Research Center for Dermatologic and Immunologic Diseases, Ministry of Science and Technology, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Key Laboratory of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Ministry of Education, Beijing, China.
Xin ChenDepartment of Nephrology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
Yan ZhaoDepartment of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, National Clinical Research Center for Dermatologic and Immunologic Diseases, Ministry of Science and Technology, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Key Laboratory of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Ministry of Education, Beijing, China.
Xiaofeng ZengDepartment of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, National Clinical Research Center for Dermatologic and Immunologic Diseases, Ministry of Science and Technology, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Key Laboratory of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Ministry of Education, Beijing, China.
Fengchun ZhangDepartment of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, National Clinical Research Center for Dermatologic and Immunologic Diseases, Ministry of Science and Technology, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Key Laboratory of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Ministry of Education, Beijing, China.
Li WangDepartment of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, National Clinical Research Center for Dermatologic and Immunologic Diseases, Ministry of Science and Technology, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Key Laboratory of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Ministry of Education, Beijing, China.
Mengtao LiDepartment of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, National Clinical Research Center for Dermatologic and Immunologic Diseases, Ministry of Science and Technology, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Key Laboratory of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Ministry of Education, Beijing, China.
Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Introduction: The condition of refractory lupus nephritis (LN) negatively affects the prognosis and life expectancy of the patients, posing a challenge to manage in clinical. This interventional study evaluated the efficacy as well as safety of leflunomide in patients with refractory LN. Methods: Twenty patients with refractory LN were enrolled in this study. A daily dose of 20-40 mg of leflunomide was given to the patients orally. Meanwhile, immunosuppressives were withdrawn, and corticosteroids were gradually tapered. There was an average follow-up period of 3, 6, and 12 months for most patients while some were observed for as long as 24 months. We recorded biochemical parameters and side effects. We calculated the response rate using intention-to-treat analysis. Results: Eighteen patients (90%) completed the study. At 3 months, 80% (16/20) of the patients achieved more than a 25% decrease in 24-hour urine protein quantity. At 6 months, three patients (15%) achieved a partial response, and five patients (25%) achieved a complete response. However, by 12 months and 24 months, the complete response rate dropped to 15% and 20%, respectively. The objective responses were 30% (6/20), 40% (8/20), 40% (8/20), and 30% (6/20) at 3, 6, 12, and 24 months, respectively. Two patients withdrew from the study due to developing cytopenia and leucopenia. Conclusion: In patients diagnosed with refractory LN, our study shows that leflunomide could be a promising treatment option owing to its response rate and safety profile.

Indexed as

Lupus NephritisCyclophosphamideHumansLeflunomideProspective StudiesTreatment OutcomeCyclophosphamideLeflunomidedrug safetyinduction therapyleflunomiderefractory lupus nephritissystemic lupus erythematosus

Identifiers

PMID37006280
PMCPMC10065288
OpenAlexW4327736435

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.