Leflunomide combined with prednisone in the treatment of lupus nephritis in 34 cases

Objective To observe the effectiveness of leflunomide combined with prednisone in the treatment of lupus nephritis.Methods 68 patients with lupus nephritis were randomly divided into two groups(34 patients per group),the observation group was received leflunomide combined with prednisone,while the control group was received cyclophosphamide combined with prednisone.Follow up the 2、4、8、12、18、24、48 weeks after treatments and observe clinical indexes and adverse reactions.Results 24h urinary protein,SCr and anti-dS DNA antibody titer were significantly decreased after 48 weeks of treatments,ALB and C3 were significantly increased.No significant difference between the two groups was observed(P0.05).The adverse reaction rate in observation group was higher than in control group,the difference was statistically significant(P0.05).Conclusion The effectiveness of leflunomide combined with prednisone in the treatment of lupus nephritis parallels the effectiveness of cyclophosphamide combined with prednisone,with less side reactions and in effect in treating lupus nephritis.