| Patient No | Age (y) / disease duration (y) | Earlier treatment (total CYC (g)); treatment immediately before RTX in bold italics | ACR criteria fulfilled at inclusion* | Main disease manifestations | BILAG at baseline/after 6 months† | SLICC-DI at entry | Baseline nephritis WHO classification/proteinuria |
| 1 | 33 / 11 | AML, MTX, AZA, CYC (6.1 g) | 6,7,10,11 | Nephritis | A/C | 0 | IIIb/0.2 g |
| 2 | 25 / 12 | AML, AZA, CyA, CYC (9.4 g) | 1,2,3,5,6,7,10,11 | Nephritis | A/B | 0 | IVc/1.6 g |
| 3 | 27 / 11 | AML, MMF, CyA, CYC (6.1 g) | 1,2,3,5,7,9,10,11 | Nephritis, serositis, | A/D B/D | 3 | Vb/5.3 g |
| 4 | 56 / 20 | AZA, MTX, CyA, thalidomide, prasterone, IvIg, CYC (3.6 g) | 1,2,3,5,7,9,10,11 | Vasculitis‡, cutaneous, destructive | A/C A/C A/C | 3 | |
| arthritis | |||||||
| 5 | 26 / 10 | AML, CYC(7.8 g) | 1,2,3,7,9,10,11 | Nephritis, general | A/C A/C | 0 | IVb/4.6 g |
| 6 | 32 / 7 | AZA, MTX, CyA, CYC (2.8 g) | 1,5,7,9,10,11 | Quinckes oedema, haematological | A/D B/B | 0 | |
| 7 | 50 / 4 | AML, MTX, AZA, CyA, prasterone IvIg, leflunomid, CYC (3.0 g) | 3,5,6,10,11 | Arthritis, serositis | A/C B/D | 0 | |
| 8 | 19 / 3 | AML, MMF, MTX, AZA, CYC (7.8 g) | 1,5,7,10,11 | Nephritis | A/B | 0 | IVc/2.9 g |
| 9 | 32 / 8 | AML, MTX, AZA, CyA, CYC (12.0 g) | 1,2,3,4,5,7,10,11 | Nephritis, destructive arthritis, neurological§ | A/B A/C B/C | 6 | IIIb/1.4 g |
| 10 | 35 / 9 | AML, AZA, MTX, CyA, MMF, IvIg, CYC (3.0 g) | 1,2,3,4,5,7,8,10,11 | Cutaneous, vasculitis¶ | B/D B/C | 2 | |
| 11 | 33 / 8 | AML, AZA, CyA, CYC (6.0 g) | 1,3,7,9,10,11 | Nephritis | A/B | 0 | Vb/ND |
| 12 | 55 / 1** | AZA, CyA, MTX, AML, SSZ, leflunomid | 1,2,3,5,11 | Destructive arthritis, general | A/C B/C | 2 | |
| 13 | 50 / 16 | AML, plasmapheresis, CYC (6.0 g) | 2,5,6,11 | Cutaneous | A/D | 1 | |
| 14 | 49 / 24 | AZA, AML, CYC (4.7 g) | 1,5,7,9,10,11 | Neurological†† general | B/B B/B | 2 | |
| 15 | 43 / 22 | AML, AZA, CYC (14.7 g) | 1,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11 | Nephritis, haematological | A/D B/C | 4 | IVb/5.9 g |
| 16 | 29 / 1 | MMF, CYC (5.8 g) | 1,3,4,5,6,7,9,10,11 | Nephritis, general, haematological, serositis | A/C A/C B/C A/B | 0 | IVb/2.4 g |
*ACR (American College of Rheumatology) criteria for classification of SLE: 1, malar rash; 2, discoid rash; 3, photosensitivity; 4, oral ulcers; 5, arthritis; 6, serositis; 7, renal disorder; 8, neurological disorder; 9, haematological disorder; 10, immunological disorder, 11, antinuclear antibody.
†BILAG (British Isles Lupus Assessment Group) scores for main organ manifestations at baseline and after six months of follow up: category A to E, where A represent the highest scoring in that particular organ system; D = previous involvement; E = no previous involvement; B and C lie in between and can be assessed as moderate and mild involvement, respectively.
‡Vasculitis = minor cutaneous and thromboembolism.
§Neurological = depression, headache, cognitive impairment.
¶Vasculitis = minor cutaneous vasculitis and superficial phlebitis.
**This patient had earlier a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis and mixed connective tissue disease but one year prior to rituximab treatment was reclassified as SLE.
††Neurological = severe depression with suicidal risk, cognitive impairment.
AML, antimalarials; AZA, azathioprine; CyA, ciclosporine A; CYC, cyclophosphamide; IvIg, intravenous immunoglobulins; MMF, mycophenolate mofetil; MTX, methotrexate; ND, not determined; SLICC/ACR-DI, Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/American College of Rheumatology damage index9; SSZ, sulfasalazine.