Poor prognostic factors of lupus nephritis

The occurrence of renal involvement during the clinical course of systemic lupus erythematous (SLE) is generally considered to be the most important factor influencing the prognosis in terms of morbidity and mortality. The factors influencing prognosis in lupus nephritis (LN) are variable in literature. Our aim was to determine predictive factors of poor prognosis in LN among our population. In this retrospective study, 82 cases of LN observed over 18 years were studied. There were 12 males and 70 females with a mean age of 26.9 ± 11 years. At presentation, the mean proteinuria was 3.9 ± 4 g/day; the nephrotic syndrome, hematuria, leukocyturia and renal failure were observed in 67.1%, 63.4%, 56.1% and 37.8% of cases, respectively. LN was of class I, II, III, IV and V in 4.9%, 13.4%, 23.2%, 50% and 8.5% of the cases, respectively. Fifteen patients developed end-stage renal failure and/or died. The presence of hypertension, renal failure, massive proteinuria and high activity index score of LN was associated with poor renal prognosis.