Treatment Effects of Chinese Medicine (Yi-Qi-Qing-Jie Herbal Compound) Combined With Immunosuppression Therapies in IgA Nephropathy Patients With High-risk of ESRD

The compounds are blends of individual herbal extracts from YQF (consisting of Astragalus membranaceus, Saposhnikovia divaricata (turcz.) Schischk, Flos lonicerae, Angelica sinensis, Dioscorea nipponica, Hedyotis diffusa Willd, rhubarb, Spatholobus suberectus, with the effect of reinforcing Qi and activating blood, clearing away heat and poison, dissolving dampness and downbearing turbid) dissolved in 150 ml boiled water and taken orally twice a day for the duration of the treatment and follow-up phases.

Immunosuppression therapy comprises oral prednisolone (0.5-0.8 mg/kg/day; exact dose decided by the investigator, maximum dose not exceeding 60 mg/day) for 8 weeks, then tapered by 5-10 mg/day every 4 weeks, with a total treatment period of 24-32 weeks. Participants with persistent proteinuria ≥ 1 g/day after 8 weeks of corticosteroid monotherapy will receive 0.8-1.0 g of intravenous cyclophosphamide (CTX) every 4 weeks, total dose of not exceeding 8 g (exact dose decided by the site investigator). If severe CTX-related adverse events occur, such as alanine transaminase (ALT) exceeding the upper limit of two times, infections requiring hospitalization, granulocytes \< 3.0 × 109/L and platelets \< 50.0 × 109/L, CTX will stop being administered, symptoms will be treated, and adverse events recorded. Also, the frequency of detection will be increased to once every 2 weeks and the affected participant will be withdrawn if persistent infection or myelosuppression occurs.

"The optimized supportive care included:~1. Lifestyle: low-salt, restricted protein dietary with sufficient calorie supply, smoking cessation, moderate alcohol consumption and keeping a healthy weight~2. The use of renin-angiotensin system blockade: lowering blood pressure to a target below 135/85 mmHg, during which treatment was adjusted to ensure that patients were receiving the maximum labelled or tolerated dose of RAS blockade~3. Patients with Diabetes Mellitus received insulin or oral hypoglycemic agents to achieve HbA1c≤ 7.0%~4. Received uricosuric agents or xanthine oxidase inhibitors as necessary to achieve serum uric acid \<6 mg/dL in female, \<7 mg/dL in male"

Patients will receive Yi-Qi-Qing-Jie herbal compound placebo instead for the duration of the treatment and follow-up phases. The major component of the placebo is malt dextrin which looks, smells and tastes like YQF compound, and it comes in packaging with a similar appearance to YQF compound; it is also dissolved in 150 ml boiled water and taken orally twice a day.