Standard of treatment and outcomes of adults with lupus nephritis in Africa: a systematic review

Abstract

Background

Lupus nephritis (LN) is a significant cause of mortality and morbidity in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and the severity of disease has been described to be increased in Africans. Observational studies have been conducted; however, the treatment and outcome of African patients with LN has not been rigorously assessed.

Methods

We conducted a systematic review of studies selected from a PubMed search of outcome in Africans with biopsy-proven LN from 1 January 1990 to 30 June 2015. Studies that gave information on histology, treatment and outcome of patients were included.

Results

Sixteen studies were selected from a search that yielded 302 papers; half were from North Africa, 2/16 (12.5%) were prospective studies and 2/16 (12.5%) were multi-centre studies. The sample size of reported biopsies in the studies ranged from 22 to 246 patients. Only 3/16 (18.8%) studies used more recent criteria for the classification and reporting of renal histology, and proliferative LN (class III and IV) were reported with increased frequency from the studies. For induction therapy, all the studies reported use of corticosteroids while 15/16 (93.8%) of the studies also used cyclophosphamide (CYC) as an induction agent. Overall mortality rates ranged from 7.9% to 34.9% with increased disease activity, kidney failure and infections cited as common causes of mortality. Five-year renal survival was 48–84% while five-year patient survival was 54%–94%. Survival rates were higher for studies reported from North Africa.

Conclusion

This analysis highlights diagnostic challenges in LN in Africa and shows that a CYC/glucocorticoid-based regimen remains the standard of treatment for adult patients. The contributions of this therapy to reported outcomes of LN in Africa require further exploration.