Comparison of cyclophosphamide and calcineurin inhibitors for idiopathic membranous nephropathy: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN) is one of the leading causes of nephrotic syndrome in adults. We performed a protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis to compare the efficacy and safety of cyclophosphamide (CTX) with calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs) in the treatment of IMN. METHODS: PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and 3 Chinese databases (WanFang Data, Chongqing VIP and China National Knowledge Infrastructure) were searched from inception through January 2022 to identify randomized controlled trials that compared CTX with CNIs for patients with IMN. Systematic review and meta-analysis of the data will be performed in RevMan software (version 5.3) according to the preferred reporting items of systematic reviews and meta-analysis guidelines. Two authors independently performed the literature searching, data extraction, and quality evaluation. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool for randomized controlled trials. RESULTS: The results will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal once completed. CONCLUSION: The conclusion of our research will provide evidence to help physicians to decide between CTX and CNIs therapy regimens for IMN patients. OPEN SCIENCE FRAMEWORK REGISTRATION NUMBER: 10.17605/OSF.IO/G584K