Supportive Management of IgA Nephropathy With Renin-Angiotensin Blockade, the AIIMS Primary IgA Nephropathy Cohort (APPROACH) Study

INTRODUCTION: Renin−angiotensin system (RAS) blockade using angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEi)/angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) is first-line therapy for IgA nephropathy (IgAN). There is a paucity of information on the predictors and magnitude of response to this treatment. METHODS: In a prospective study, treatment-naive patients with IgAN with urinary protein ≥ 1 g/d and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) ≥ 30 ml/min per 1.73 m(2) received supportive treatment including ACEi (ramipril) or ARB (losartan) in patients intolerant to ACEi, and optimal blood pressure (BP) control to ≤130/80 mm Hg, with a follow-up of 6 months. The primary outcome was remission of proteinuria. Complete remission (CR) was defined as proteinuria < 0.5 g/d and partial remission (PR) as proteinuria < 1g/d with at least a 50% decline from the baseline with stable renal function (≤ 25% reduction in eGFR). RESULTS: A total of 96 patients were analyzed, with a mean age of 33.3 ± 10.2 years, baseline eGFR 74.0 ± 30.9 ml/min per 1.73 m(2), and urinary protein 2.6 ± 1.2 g/d. In all, 71.9% patients received ≥ 75% of the maximum approved dose of ACEi/ARB. Remission was observed in 36.5% (CR, 6.3%) patients at 3 months and in 55.2% (CR, 31.3%) at 6 months. Patients who failed to achieve remission had lower baseline eGFR (P = 0.002) and serum albumin levels (P< 0.001), asymptomatic hyperuricemia (P < 0.001), and higher proteinuria (P = 0.076). E1 (P= 0.053) and T1/T2 (P = 0.009) lesions were more frequent on histology. The ACEi/ARB had to be discontinued in 17 (17.7%) patients. These patients were older (P= 0.085) with lower eGFR (P < 0.002) and serum albumin levels (P = 0.001) and more E1 (P = 0.012) and T1/T2 (P = 0.001) lesions on histology. CONCLUSION: Meticulous supportive therapy with optimal use of ACEi/ARB achieved remission in half of IgAN patients in this study. Increasing the treatment duration to 6 months improved remission rates. Patients with severe clinical and histological disease were less likely to tolerate and respond to treatment with RAS blockade.