Prognosis and incidence of infections in chronic kidney disease patients with membranous nephropathy enrolled in a large Japanese clinical claims database

BACKGROUND: The treatment of membranous nephropathy involves a combination of conservative approaches, steroids, and immunosuppressive agents. Infection is an adverse effect of these treatments and its incidence is a critical issue for patients with membranous nephropathy, as many of them are older adults. However, the incidence of infections remains unclear; hence, this study investigated this issue using data from a large Japanese clinical claims database. METHODS: From a database of patients with chronic kidney disease (n = 924,238), those diagnosed with membranous nephropathy from April 2008 to August 2021 with a history of one or more prescriptions and undergoing medical care were included. Patients who had undergone kidney replacement therapy were excluded. Patients were divided into three groups based on their prescriptions after diagnosis: prednisolone(PSL), who received steroids; PSL + IS, who were prescribed steroids and immunosuppressive agents; and C, who were treated without steroid or immunosuppressive agent use. The primary outcome was death or the initiation of kidney replacement therapy. The secondary outcome was death or hospitalization due to infection. Infectious diseases such as sepsis, pneumonia, urinary tract infections, cellulitis, cytomegalovirus infection, colitis, or hepatitis were defined as infections. Hazard ratios were expressed using group C as a reference. RESULTS: Of 1,642 patients, the incidence of the primary outcome occurred in 62/460 individuals in the PSL group, 81/635 individuals in the PSL + IS group, and 47/547 individuals in the C group. The Kaplan–Meier survival curve showed no significant differences (P = 0.088). The incidence of secondary outcomes occurred in 80/460 individuals, 102/635 individuals, and 37/547 individuals in the PSL, PSL + IS, and C groups, respectively. The incidence of secondary outcomes was significantly higher in the PSL group (hazard ratio [HR] 2.43 [95% confidence interval [CI] 1.64–3.62, P < 0.01]) and PSL + IS group (HR 2.23 [95% CI 1.51–3.30, P < 0.01]). CONCLUSIONS: The outcome of membranous nephropathy was not completely satisfactory. Patients who use steroids and immunosuppressive agents have a high incidence of infection and may require close monitoring during the course of treatment.High-efficacy treatment with a low incidence of infections is desirable. The significance of this study lies in the fact that the impressions of membranous nephropathy, which have been recognized as tacit knowledge, were quantified using a clinical database. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12882-023-03190-6.