A Retrospective Renal Study from a Lupus Vasculitis Clinic

Aim: In July 2009, a combined Renal Rheumatology Lupus Vasculitis (RRLV) clinic, the first of its kind for adult patients in Australia, was started at Royal Brisbane & Women’s Hospital. This is an audit of progression of renal disease to assess if patients attending this clinic had comparable results to published studies of similar cohorts with lupus Nephritis (LN) and vasculitis. Methods: We conducted a retrospective audit of all the patients who attended this clinic from July 2009 to October 2013. There were 33 patients followed up in the vasculitis group and 36 in the LN group. Patients with other connective tissue disorders were excluded from the analysis as the numbers were insignificant. Results: The mean estimated glomerular filtration rate of vasculitis and LN patients improved from 32.06 to 45.82 ml/min/1.73m2 and 62.42 to 65.53 ml/min/ 1.73m2 respectively. The mean urine protein/creatinine ratio of vasculitis and LN patients improved from 420 to 85 and 406 to 70 respectively. No patients died in either group. One vasculitis and two LN patients required maintenance dialysis. Three LN patients underwent renal transplantation. Conclusion: The results show excellent patient and renal survival and support the concept of a combined renal rheumatology clinic in managing renal disease from systemic connective tissue disorders.