]. Regretfully, because of the limitation of follow-up, the long-term antiproteinuric and reno-protective efficacy comparisons between HCQ and CS therapy in patients with IgAN are unknown.
The inclusion criteria were as follows: primary IgAN diagnosed by renal biopsy; receiving HCQ treatment for at least 24 months; and no CS or other immunosuppressive agents used within 3 months before or during HCQ treatment. The exclusion criteria included secondary IgAN, missing baseline or follow-up data, pregnancy or lactation, complicated with Henoch-Schönlein nephritis, chronic hepatic disease, malignant tumour, systemic lupus erythematosus or other connective tissue diseases, etc.
The study was conducted in compliance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the ethics committee at Peking University First Hospital.All patients received the maximum labelled or tolerated dose of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers according to the KDIGO guidelines for IgAN.
The occurrence of adverse events was also recorded. AEs were collected from the patient’s medical records and included pneumonia, gastrointestinal infection, newly diagnosed diabetes, arthralgia, palpitations, increased liver enzymes , nausea, insomnia and skin pigmentation.