The Crescentic Implication of Renal Outcomes in Proliferative Lupus Nephritis.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the association between crescents and renal outcomes, and the implications on therapeutic choices.

METHODS: There were 231 patients with biopsy-proven proliferative lupus nephritis (PLN) who were divided into 4 groups: 59 patients were in the noncrescent group (NC); 59 patients exclusively with segmental crescents were in the segmental crescent group (SC); patients with circumferential crescents were categorized into 2 groups according to the crescentic ratio (C1 had 64 patients with ≤ 25%, and C2 had 49 patients with > 25%). Their baseline laboratory tests, histopathological manifestations, and outcomes were compared.

RESULTS: Remission rates in NC, SC, C1, and C2 groups were 92.1%, 85.4%, 95.0%, and 76.1%, respectively. Fewer patients in the C2 group achieved complete remission than the other 3 groups. For longterm outcomes evaluated by serum creatinine (SCr) doubling or endstage renal disease (ESRD), the renal survival rate was lowest in the C2 group (p = 0.003). Including clinical and pathological variables in the Cox proportional hazard regression model separately, the multivariate analysis revealed that these were independent risk factors for SCr doubling or ESRD: baseline SCr (with every 1 mg/dl increase: HR = 1.834, 95% CI 1.465-2.296; p < 0.001), hemoglobin (with every 1 g/l increase: HR = 0.970, 95% CI 0.947-0.992; p = 0.009), the proportions of cellular crescents (with every 1% increase: HR = 1.040, 95% CI 1.015-1.066; p = 0.002) and fibrocellular crescents (with every 1% increase: HR = 1.085, 95% CI 1.013-1.163; p = 0.020), and severe renal tubular atrophy (HR = 5.348, 95% CI 1.278-22.373; p = 0.022).

CONCLUSION: PLN with crescents > 25% had worse renal outcomes both in short and long terms. Proportions of cellular and fibrocellular crescents were independent risk factors for poor renal survival.