Li X, Ren H, Zhang Q et al.
Rui Jin Hospital, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China.
Nephrol Dial Transplant 2012;27:1467-72.
Editor’s note: The current study was an open-label, prospective trial in which the efficacy and safety of mycophenolate mofetil, tacrolimus, and intravenous (IV) cyclophosphamide combined with oral corticosteroids were compared in the induction treatment of active lupus nephritis (LN). In essence, 60 Chinese patients with systemic lupus erythematosus were randomized (20 patients in each group) in an open-label manner. Forty of them had class III or IV LN, 12 had a combination of proliferative and membranous LN, and the remaining eight had pure membranous LN. Patients with a serum creatinine level >5.0 mg/dL were excluded, and pulse IV corticosteroids were prohibited throughout the study.