THE EFFICIENCY OF ANTI C1Q ANTIBODY AS A DIAGNOSTIC TOOL IN SLE PATIENTS WITH PROLIFERATIVE LUPUS NEPHRITIS

Dr. Salina Akter*, Dr. Mohammad Rafiqul Alam, Dr. Abdullah Al Mamun, Dr. Md. Siddiqur Rahman, Dr. Md Kawsarul Islam and Md. Ajfar Sazid Khan

ABSTRACT

Objective: In this study our main goal is to evaluate the efficiency of Anti C1q antibody as a diagnostic tool in SLE patients with proliferative lupus nephritis. Method: This cross-sectional analytic study was conduct at Departments of Nephrology and Rheumatology, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka, Bangladeshfrom July 2014 to June 2016. 72 patients were recruited for this study of which the case group was consisted of 36 patients. The rest 36 patients were in the control group. Results: During the study, blood pressure was significantly higher among cases than controls. Mild anaemia in case and control groups were found in 15 (41.7%) and 17 (47.2%) patients respectively. Moderate anaemia was present within case and control groups in 13 (36.1%) and 11 (30.6%) patients respectively. The difference in case and control group regarding anaemia was not statistically significant (p=0.962). Level of anti C1q antibody was significantly higher in patients with low serum C4. Similarly, anti C1q antibody level was higher in patients with low serum C3 and positive anti-ds DNA. anti C1q-antibody level was significantly higher in case than that of control. The mean Anti C1q-antibody in case and control group were 37.04 ± 30.01 ng/ml and 4.76 ± 9.16 ng/ml with the range of 1.09 – 123.00 ng/ml and 0.04 – 40.04 ng/ml with the p value of less than 0.001. Conclusion: We can conclude that, anti-C1q antibody along with other biomarkers of lupus nephritis (anti dsDNA, C3 and C4) greatly improves the diagnosis of active lupus nephritis in patients with SLE.

Keywords: Anti C1q antibody, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), autoimmune disease.