Rituximab treatment for lupus nephritis: A systematic review

Purpose: We used the Cochrane systematic review to analyze the effectiveness and safety of rituximab for lupus nephritis. Methods: Systematic search was performed among Cochrane clinical controlled trials database, MEDLINE, MEDLINE-IN-Process and Other Non-Indexed Citations, EMBASE, EBSCO CINAHL, CNKI, VIP and Wanfang database from the establishment of the database to February 2016. The effectiveness and safety were evaluated in terms of the complete remission rate, total remission rate, urinary protein, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index changes and adverse events rate. Data were analyzed by the Review Manager Software version 5.3. Results: Five RCTs that met the inclusion criteria, including a total of 238 patients, were enrolled in our study. The results showed that the complete remission rate in rituximab group was a significantly higher than that of cyclophosphamide group. The difference between the two groups was statistically significant (OR=2.80, 95%CI(1.08,7.26), P=0.03). But there was no significant difference between the two groups in partial and total remission rate. The complete remission rate, partial remission rate and total remission rate in rituximab treatment group was similar compared with mycophenolate mofetil group and rituximab combined with cyclophosphamide group. The adverse reaction rate was also similar among the groups. Conclusion: The study systematically analyzed the effectiveness and safety of rituximab for lupus nephritis, which suggested that the complete remission rate of rituximab in the treatment of lupus nephritis was a significantly higher than that of cyclophosphamide group, while the effectiveness and safety was of no difference compared with cyclophosphamide and mycophenolate mofetil.