Supportive Management of IgA Nephropathy With Renin-Angiotensin Blockade, the AIIMS Primary IgA Nephropathy Cohort (APPROACH) Study

INTRODUCTION: Renin-angiotensin system (RAS) blockade using angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEi)/angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) is first-line therapy for IgA nephropathy (IgAN). There is a paucity of information on the predictors and magnitude of response to this treatment. METHODS: received supportive treatment including ACEi (ramipril) or ARB (losartan) in patients intolerant to ACEi, and optimal blood pressure (BP) control to ≤130/80 mm Hg, with a follow-up of 6 months. The primary outcome was remission of proteinuria. Complete remission (CR) was defined as proteinuria < 0.5 g/d and partial remission (PR) as proteinuria < 1g/d with at least a 50% decline from the baseline with stable renal function (≤ 25% reduction in eGFR). CONCLUSION: Meticulous supportive therapy with optimal use of ACEi/ARB achieved remission in half of IgAN patients in this study. Increasing the treatment duration to 6 months improved remission rates. Patients with severe clinical and histological disease were less likely to tolerate and respond to treatment with RAS blockade.