Journal of Clinical Pediatrics ›› 2024, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (11): 975-982.doi: 10.12372/jcp.2024.23e0911

• Original Article • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Efficacy of Belimumab combined with traditional regimen in the treatment of active lupus nephritis in children

PENG Qianqian(), YANG Huandan, YUAN Tingting, QIU Shan, LI Yan, ZHOU Suqin, LU Qian   

  1. Department of Nephrology and Rheumatology, Xuzhou Children's Hospital, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou221000, Jiangsu, China
  • Received:2023-09-18 Published:2024-11-15 Online:2024-11-08
  • Contact: PENG Qianqian E-mail:pengqiantougao2022@163.com

Abstract:

Objective To investigate the efficacy of combining Belimumab with traditional therapy in treating active lupus nephritis (LN) in children during the early induction period, and to provide a novel diagnostic and therapeutic framework for the future treatment of LN in children. Method Clinical data were collected from 58 children with active LN newly diagnosed from January 2018 to August 2021. Participants were divided into observation group (32 cases) and control group (26 cases) based on the use of Belimumab in the induction stage. Serum biochemical markers(ALB, BUN, Cr, eGRF), immune markers (IgG, C3, C4, CD19+B count, anti-nuclear antibody), along with urinary microalbumin, urinary protein quantity at at 24h and SLEDAI-2K score were were assessed at baseline and after 4, 12, and 24 weeks of treatment. The compliance rate, recurrence rate and glucocorticoid dosage of the two groups were also followed up. Results No significant differences were found in renal pathological type and traditional treatment between the two groups (P>0.05), there were no significant differences in blood ALB, BUN, CR, C3 and C4 between the two groups(P>0.05). However, statistically significant differences were observed among all groups (P<0.05).The eGFR was higher in the observation group at 4 and 12 weeks, but no statistically significant difference was noted between the two groups (P>0.05). After 12 and 24 weeks of treatment,urinary microalbumin and urinary protein quantity at 24h were significantly reduced compared to the control group, with statistical significance (P<0.05); intergroup comparisons also showed significant differences (P<0.05). In the observation group at 24 weeks, the CD19+B cell count decreased from 653 (438-933.25) cells/μL to 45 (30.50-66.50) cells/μL, IgG decreased from 14.84 (12.03-17.64) g/L to 5.45 (5.11-5.79) g/L. The positive rate of anti-nuclear antibodies decreased from 100% to 46.87%, SLEDAI-2K score reached disease-free activity status. The complete remission rate (87.50%) and total efficiency (93.75%) in the observation group were significantly higher than those in the control group (65.38% and 84.62%, respectively), with statistical significance (P<0.05). The glucocorticoid dosage was reduced to 5 mg/d in 87.50% of children in the observation group after 24 weeks, compared to 76.92% in the control group, with statistically significant differences (P<0.05). After 2 years follow-up, the compliance rate in the observation group (93.75%) was significantly higher than that in the control group (61.54%), while the recurrence rate (6.25%) was lower than that of the control group (30.77%), with statistical significance (P<0.05). Conclusion The combination of Belimumab and traditional therapy is effective in treating active LN in children during the induction period. This approach alleviates proteinuria, improves disease activity in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), facilitates early glucocorticoid reduction, and enhances overall outcomes, demonstrating superior efficacy compared to traditional therapy alone.

Key words: active lupus nephritis, belimumb, standard treatment, child