Effects of two blood purification treatments combined with immunosuppressants on GM-CSF and CXCL16 levels in patients with lupus nephritis

OBJECTIVES This study aimed to investigate the therapeutic effects of two different blood purification treatments combined with immunosuppressants on patients with lupus nephritis (LN) and their effects affecting granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and CXC chemokine ligand-16 (CXCL16) levels. METHODS Ninety patients with LN admitted to our hospital were enrolled and randomly assigned into groups A and B. Group A was treated with continuous veno-venous hemofiltration (CVVH) combined with conventional medical treatment (CMT, n = 40, including 23 females and 17 males), whereas group B was treated with intermittent hemodialysis combined with conventional medical treatment (n = 50, including 35 females and 15 males). Both groups received prednisone and cyclophosphamide. RESULTS GM-CSF and CXCL16 levels in the two groups were significantly reduced after treatment (P 0.05). After treatment, the SLEDAI scores were significantly decreased in both groups, and were significantly lower in group A than in group B (P < 0.05, -1.816 to -0.1241). CONCLUSION CVVH combined with conventional medical treatment is more effective than intermittent hemodialysis combined with conventional medical treatment, and is easier to remove GM-CSF and CXCL16.