|
Continued immunosuppressant treatment of lupus in ESRD may boost survival. |
 |
|
EurekAlert: Four years after beginning renal replacement therapy, patients who continued to be treated with immunosuppressive medications were less likely to have died compared with patients who took only low doses of prednisone or no medication. (In fact, patients receiving no medication were 13 times more likely to have died compared with patients treated with a combination of immunosuppressive therapies.) The study also found that lupus patients who visited their rheumatologist at least twice a year after starting dialysis had significantly higher four-year survival rates compared with patients who went for fewer follow-up visits.
|