Efficacy and safety of telitacicept in the treatment of pediatric IgA nephropathy: a retrospective study.

BACKGROUND

Recent investigations have indicated that telitacicept significantly diminishes proteinuria levels in adult patients diagnosed with IgA nephropathy (IgAN). The therapy has been correlated with a substantial reduction in galactose-deficient IgA1 (Gd-IgA1) levels. The present study endeavors to clarify the efficacy and safety profile of telitacicept in the treatment of IgAN among pediatric patients.

METHODS

This study is a retrospective, observational, single-center research on 12 pediatric patients with IgAN treated with telitacicept as adjunctive therapy, mainly via weekly subcutaneous injections at 2.5 mg/kg, up to a maximum of 160 mg. During telitacicept treatment, ACEI use was maintained, and immunosuppressive doses were gradually reduced.

RESULTS

A total of 12 patients with a mean age of 11.75 years were enrolled. The median follow-up duration post-telitacicept initiation was 9 months. The median 24 h urinary proteinuria decreased from 0.98 (0.5, 9.8) g/1.73 m2 at baseline to 0.36 (0.08, 2.49) g/1.73 m2 at month 12. At the final follow-up, 7 patients (58.3%) achieved complete remission. During the follow-up period, routine urinalysis demonstrated a significant improvement in urinary red blood cell counts for all patients. No serious adverse events (AEs) were reported in any patient during treatment with telitacicept.

CONCLUSIONS

Telitacicept has exhibited both effectiveness and safety in the treatment of children diagnosed with IgAN.