The goals of treatment in renal vasculitis are to stop vasculitic activity and recover renal function. Subsequent strategies are required to prevent vasculitis returning and to address longer-term co-morbidities caused by tissue damage, drug toxicity, and increased cardiovascular and malignancy risk.Cyclophosphamide and high-dose glucocorticoids remain the standard induction therapy with alternative immunosuppressives, such as azathioprine, to prevent relapse. Plasma exchange improves renal recovery in severe presentations. Refractory disease resulting from a failure of induction or remission maintenance therapy requires alternative agents and rituximab has been particularly effective. Replacement of cyclophosphamide by rituximab for remission induction is supported by recent evidence. Methotrexate is effective in non-renal vasculitis but difficult to use in patients with renal impairment. Mycophenolate mofetil seems to be effective but there is less long-term evidence.Drug toxicity contributes to co-morbidity and mortality and has led to newer regimens with reduced cyclophosphamide exposure. Glucocorticoid toxicity remains a major problem with controversy over the rapidity with which glucocorticoids can be reduced or withdrawn.Disease relapse occurs in about 50% of patients. Early detection is less likely to lead to an adverse affect on outcomes. Rates of cardiovascular disease and malignancy are higher than in control populations but strategies to reduce their risk, apart from cyclophosphamide-sparing regimens, have not been developed. Thromboembolic events occur in 10% and may be linked to the recently identified autoantibodies to plasminogen and tissue plasminogen activator.Renal impairment at diagnosis is a strong predictor of patient survival and renal outcome. Other predictors include patient age, antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody subtype, disease extent and response to therapy. Chronic kidney disease can stabilize for many years but the risks of end-stage renal disease are increased by acute kidney injury at presentation or renal relapse. Renal transplantation is successful with similar outcomes to other causes of end-stage renal disease.
Single-Dose, Open-Label Study of the Differences in Pharmacokinetics of Colchicine in Subjects with Renal Impairment, Including End-Stage Renal Disease