#3791 Efficacy and safety of biologic therapies for the treatment of lupus nephritis/lupus erythematosus: experience of our hospital

Abstract Background and Aims Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a disease with complex immunopathogenesis. Lupus nephritis (LN) affects up to 60% of patients with SLE, increasing their morbidity and mortality. Better knowledge of the disease has allowed advances in the therapeutic approach. Biologic agents are approved for the treatment of SLE and LN with the aim of controlling the disease, avoiding new outbreaks and preventing chronic damage. Aims: describe the effectiveness of biologic agents in preventing new outbreaks and reducing the dose of immunosuppressive treatment. Describe the safety of biological agents. In patients with LN subanalysis to observe if there is a relationship between the histological class, the activity/chronicity indices and their evolution towards end-stage chronic kidney disease. Method Observational and retrospective study of our series of patients (n:60) treated with biologic agents for LN and SLE at the Puerta del Mar University Hospital in Cádiz, Spain (Nephrology, Internal Medicine and Rheumatology). We analyzed clinical, analytical and histopathological variables to assess response to treatment, safety of biological agents, reduction in doses of usual immunosuppressive treatment and evolution of the disease. Results Biologic agents prevented new SLE outbreaks in 86.7%, achieving a complete response in 66.7%. No side effects in 85%. In patients with LN, a statistically significant difference is observed between the different pre- and post-treatment variables (creatinine, glomerular filtration rate, proteinuria, complement, Anti-DNA. Renal biopsies in 22 patients, class IV was the most frequent 36.4%. The activity and chronicity index show a statistically significant relationship with creatinine and proteinuria after treatment. Renal survival at 10 years is 86.1%. Conclusion In our study, biologic agents for the treatment of SLE and LN have proven to be safe and effective, achieving a lower number of flares, achieving a complete response in 66% of patients without complications after treatment. They have made it possible to reduce immunosuppressive treatment in up to 75% of patients.