Clinical Efficacy of Huangkui Capsule Plus Methylprednisolone for Immunoglobulin A Nephropathy and Its Effect on Renal Function and Serum Inflammatory Factors

OBJECTIVE: To assess the clinical efficacy of Huangkui capsule plus methylprednisolone for immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy and its effect on renal function and serum inflammatory factors. METHODS: A total of 80 patients with IgA nephropathy admitted to our hospital from April 2019 to December 2021 were recruited and assigned (1 : 1) to receive either conventional drugs + methylprednisolone tablets (observation group) or conventional drugs + methylprednisolone tablets + Huangkui capsules (experimental group), with 40 patients in each group. Outcome measures included clinical efficacy, renal function indices, serum inflammatory factor levels, and adverse events. RESULTS: The experimental group showed a significantly higher clinical efficacy versus the observation group (P < 0.05). Patients in the experimental group had significantly lower serum creatinine, serum urea nitrogen, fibrinogen, and 24 h urine protein levels than those in the observation group after treatment (P < 0.05). After treatment, the experimental group showed lower levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) than the observation group (P < 0.05). The differences in the adverse events between the two groups did not come up to the statistical standard (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Huangkui capsule + methylprednisolone provides a feasible therapeutic option for IgA nephropathy by considerably boosting patients' renal function, successfully lowering the inflammatory response, and producing a good safety profile.