Introduction:

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic, autoimmune disease of unknown aetiology that affects any organ or tissue. Lupus Nephritis (LN) is the most common cause of kidney involvement in SLE. Approximately 50% of patients with SLE suffer LN at some point in their disease, being a risk factor for morbidity and mortality.

Objective:

To provide updated information on LN, evaluating the pathophysiology, clinical manifestations and placing special emphasis on the diagnosis and therapeutic strategies used in clinical practice.

Materials and methods:

A narrative review was carried out regarding patients with SLE who developed LN in the Google Scholar, Embase, SciELO, Scopus and Medline databases using the MeSH terms lupus nephritis, biopsy, systemic lupus erythematosus, treatment.

Results:

A total of 50 studies were chosen that met the search requirements. These included 18 original articles, 11 reviews, 9 cases and controls, 7 cohort studies, and 5 experimental studies. The pathophysiology is heterogeneous and genetic and environmental factors con tribute to it. Proteinuria, haematuria, and tubular abnormalities are among the main clinical manifestations. There is no single way to treat LN, it varies according to the severity of the disease and the risk of progressive kidney damage; according to the renal biopsy result, standardized by the ISN / RPS classification.

Conclusions:

The purpose of treatment is to improve kidney function, decrease proteinuria, correct immunological markers, avoiding the appearance of complications. To improve the prognosis, new techniques must be developed that will allow us to evaluate the onset of kidney disease activity or its relapse to initiate early management, generating a reduction in mortality and improving quality of life.

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