Why do patients with lupus nephritis die?
Over 20 years 42 of 138 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus “died”–that is, suffered actual death or went into terminal renal failure, or both; data from 41 were available for analysis. In most patients the causes of death were multiple. Twenty seven patients went into terminal renal failure, of whom 25 were offered dialysis treatment. Three regained renal function later, 12 survived on dialysis or with functioning kidney allografts–almost all with inactive lupus–but 13 died after starting dialysis, most within a few weeks or months. The principal causes were active lupus or infection. In those patients with renal failure after rapid deterioration in renal function (n = 14) there were nine deaths, while of 10 patients with a slow evolution into renal failure, only four died. Four patients with impaired and 10 with normal renal function died, again most often from complications of lupus or from infection. Vascular disease was a major cause of death in seven patients, all but t
