Quality indicators for systemic lupus erythematosus based on the 2019 EULAR recommendations: development and initial validation in a cohort of 220 patients

2021 ◽  
pp. annrheumdis-2021-220438
Author(s):  
Katerina Chavatza ◽  
Myrto Kostopoulou ◽  
Dionysis Nikolopoulos ◽  
Ourania Gioti ◽  
Konstantina Togia ◽  
...  

BackgroundQuality of care is receiving increased attention in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We developed quality indicators (QIs) for SLE based on the 2019 update of European League Against Rheumatism recommendations.MethodsA total of 44 candidate QIs corresponding to diagnosis, monitoring and treatment, were independently rated for validity and feasibility by 12 experts and analysed by a modified Research and Development Corporation/University of California Los Angeles model. Adherence to the final set of QIs and correlation with disease outcomes (flares, hospitalisations and organ damage) was tested in a cohort of 220 SLE patients with a median monitoring of 2 years (IQR 2–4).ResultsThe panel selected a total of 18 QIs as valid and feasible. On average, SLE patients received 54% (95% CI 52.3% to 56.2%) of recommended care, with adherence ranging from 44.7% (95% CI 40.8% to 48.6%) for diagnosis-related QIs to 84.3% (95% CI 80.6% to 87.5%) for treatment-related QIs. Sustained remission or low disease activity were achieved in 26.8% (95% CI 21.1% to 33.2%). Tapering of prednisone dose to less than 7.5 mg/day was achieved in 93.6% (95% CI 88.2% to 97.0%) while 73.5% (95% CI 66.6% to 79.6%) received the recommended hydroxychloroquine dose. Higher adherence to monitoring-related QIs was associated with reduced risk for a composite adverse outcome (flare, hospitalisation or damage accrual) during the last year of observation (OR 0.97 per 1% adherence rate, 95% CI 0.96 to 0.99).ConclusionWe developed QIs for assessing and improving the care of SLE patients. Initial real-life data suggest face validity, but a variable degree of adherence and a need for further improvement.

Lupus ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 20 (11) ◽  
pp. 1219-1226 ◽  
Author(s):  
LF Pinto ◽  
CJ Velásquez ◽  
C Prieto ◽  
L Mestra ◽  
E Forero ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 243
Author(s):  
Matteo Piga ◽  
Laurent Arnaud

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an immune-mediated multi-systemic disease characterized by a wide variability of clinical manifestations and a course frequently subject to unpredictable flares. Despite significant advances in the understanding of the pathophysiology and optimization of medical care, patients with SLE still have significant mortality and carry a risk of progressive organ damage accrual and reduced health-related quality of life. New tools allow earlier classification of SLE, whereas tailored early intervention and treatment strategies targeted to clinical remission or low disease activity could offer the opportunity to reduce damage, thus improving long-term outcomes. Nevertheless, the early diagnosis of SLE is still an unmet need for many patients. Further disentangling the SLE susceptibility and complex pathogenesis will allow to identify more accurate biomarkers and implement new ways to measure disease activity. This could represent a major step forward to find new trials modalities for developing new drugs, optimizing the use of currently available therapeutics and minimizing glucocorticoids. Preventing and treating comorbidities in SLE, improving the management of hard-to-treat manifestations including management of SLE during pregnancy are among the remaining major unmet needs. This review provides insights and a research agenda for the main challenges in SLE.


2021 ◽  
pp. 109980042110055
Author(s):  
María Correa-Rodríguez ◽  
Gabriela Pocovi-Gerardino ◽  
José-Luis Callejas-Rubio ◽  
Raquel Ríos-Fernández ◽  
Blanca Rueda-Medina ◽  
...  

Osteoporosis is a common comorbidity in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), but the potential contribution of disease-associated factors to bone status in SLE is not well known because the reported risk factors from different studies differ greatly. We aimed to examine frequency of reduced bone mass in women with SLE, and determine their potential associations with disease activity, damage accrual and SLE-related clinical markers. A cross-sectional study including 121 Caucasian pre-menopausal and postmenopausal women was conducted (mean age 49.2 ± 12.4 years). The SLE Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI-2 K) and the SDI Damage Index were used to assess disease activity and disease-related damage, respectively. Bone mineral density (BMD) of the left femoral neck and lumbar spine (L2–L4) were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Ten patients (8.3%) had osteoporosis, 63 (52.1%) patients had osteopenia and 6.8% of women had history of previous fracture. Patients with low bone mass had a significantly higher mean SDI (1.3 ± 1.2 versus 0.7 ± 1.0 p = 0.003). T-score at lumbar spine was inversely correlated with SDI score (r = -0.222, p = 0.014) and complement C3 level ( r = −0.206, p = .024). SDI scores were significantly different between patients with osteoporosis, osteopenia, and normal BMD after adjusting for covariates ( p = .004). There is a high prevalence of low BMD in Caucasian women with SLE, and this status was associated with higher damage accrual scores, supporting that disease damage may itself be a major contributor to the low BMD. Women with SLE with organ damage require regular bone status monitoring to prevent further musculoskeletal damage.


2013 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 513-519 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lily Siok Hoon Lim ◽  
Arlette Lefebvre ◽  
Susanne Benseler ◽  
Earl D. Silverman

Objective.(1) To describe the clinical course and response to treatment; and (2) to evaluate and compare damage accrual of distinct phenotypic subgroups of patients with clinically important psychiatric illness of pediatric systemic lupus erythematosus (pSLE).Methods.A single-center cohort study of patients with pSLE followed at a pediatric lupus clinic from 1985 to July 2009. Clinical course and response to treatment were studied. Remission was defined by absence of psychiatric/cognitive symptoms while receiving minimal doses of prednisone. Disease activity and damage were measured using SLE Disease Activity Index and SLE Damage Index.Results.Fifty-three children were included: 40 with psychosis and cognitive dysfunction (PSYC group) and 13 with isolated cognitive dysfunction (COG group). All received immunosuppressive treatment. Eighteen of 32 treated with azathioprine required a change to cyclophosphamide for poor response but none on cyclophosphamide required a change. The median times to remission were 72 weeks (PSYC) and 70 weeks (COG). Eight patients (7 PSYC, 1 COG) experienced flare following response/remission. New damage was noted in 50% of children at a median of 11 months: 57% of PSYC group, 31% of COG group. Persistent cognitive dysfunction was seen in 16% of PSYC patients and 15% of COG patients.Conclusion.Most patients responded to immunosuppressive treatment, although median time to remission was > 1 year. Roughly half the patients acquired a new damage item, most of which did not interfere with functional abilities. Fewer than 20% of patients developed neuropsychiatric damage. Both phenotypes of psychiatric pSLE responded equally well to current treatment.


Lupus ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (11) ◽  
pp. 1133-1141 ◽  
Author(s):  
L López-López ◽  
M Nieves-Plaza ◽  
M del R Castro ◽  
YM Font ◽  
CA Torres-Ramos ◽  
...  

2014 ◽  
Vol 74 (6) ◽  
pp. 1019-1023 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel F Ugarte-Gil ◽  
Eduardo Acevedo-Vásquez ◽  
Graciela S Alarcón ◽  
Cesar A Pastor-Asurza ◽  
José L Alfaro-Lozano ◽  
...  

PurposeTo determine the association between the number of flares systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients experience and damage accrual, independently of other known risk factors.MethodsSLE patients (34 centres, nine Latin American countries) with a recent diagnosis (≤2 years) and ≥3 evaluations were studied. Disease activity was ascertained with the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI) and damage with the SLICC/ACR Damage Index (SDI). Flare was defined as an increase ≥4 points in the SLEDAI between two study visits. An ambidirectional case- crossover design was used to determine the association between the number of flares and damage accrual.Results901 patients were eligible for the study; 500 of them (55.5%) experienced at least one flare, being the mean number of flares 0.9 (SD: 1.0). 574 intervals from 251 patients were included in the case-crossover design since they have case and control intervals, whereas, the remaining patients did not. Their mean age at diagnosis was 27.9 years (SD: 11.1), 213 (84.9%) were women. The mean baseline SDI and SLEDAI were 1.3 (1.3) and 13.6 (8.1), respectively. Other features were comparable to those of the entire sample. After adjusting for possible confounding variables, the number of flares, regardless of their severity, was associated with damage accrual (SDI) OR 2.05, 95% CI 1.43 to 2.94, p<0.001 (OR 2.62, 95% CI 1.31 to 5.24, p=0.006 for severe and OR 1.91, 95% CI 1.28 to 2.83, p=0.001for mild-moderate).ConclusionsThe number of flares patients experience, regardless of their severity, increases the risk of damage accrual, independently of other known risk factors.


2013 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
pp. 831-841 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pooneh S. Akhavan ◽  
Jiandong Su ◽  
Wendy Lou ◽  
Dafna D. Gladman ◽  
Murray B. Urowitz ◽  
...  

Objective.To assess whether hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) prevents early damage in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).Methods.We updated an existing systematic review of literature on clinical effects of HCQ in patients with SLE. We conducted a nested case-control study embedded in an inception cohort of patients with SLE. Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics Damage Index (SDI) at 3 years was considered as our primary outcome. Patients with SDI > 0 at 3 years were considered cases and patients with SDI = 0 were controls. Cases and controls were first compared by univariate analysis. Then conditional logistic regression models adjusting for potential confounders were done to study the effect of HCQ on damage accrual.Results.Included in the analysis were 481 patients who had 3 or more years of followup. Out of this cohort, we could match 151 cases with 151 controls. Univariate analysis identified age, the use of any immunosuppressive drugs, HCQ, and cumulative dose of steroids as significant covariates associated with damage accrual. In multivariate analysis, the use of HCQ remained significantly associated with less damage (OR 0.34, 95% CI 0.132–0.867), while age (OR 1.05, 95% CI 1.027–1.078) and a variable combining SLE activity and steroid dose (OR 1.73, 95% CI 1.306–2.295) were associated with damage at 3 years.Conclusion.We demonstrated that HCQ use was associated with less damage at 3 years after diagnosis of SLE when attention was given and adjustment done for disease activity and steroid dose, duration of disease, and calendar year of diagnosis.


2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (Supplement_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marwa Omrane ◽  
Raja Aoudia ◽  
Mondher Ounissi ◽  
Soumaya Chargui ◽  
Mouna Jerbi ◽  
...  

Abstract Background and Aims Systemic lupus erythematosus is a multi-visceral autoimmune disease. Renal involvement is one of the most common and serious manifestations of this disease. The histological lesions are highly polymorphic and the renal biopsy remains crucial for the therapeutic management of lupus nephritis (LN). The aim of our investigation was to study the epidemiological, clinical, biological and histological characteristics, outcomes and to evaluate the therapeutic protocols used for lupus nephritis’ treatment and to identify predictive factors of renal prognosis in patients with lupus nephritis. Method It was a retrospective study including patients over 16 years old with lupus nephritis proved by kidney biopsy and followed up over a period of 17 years in our department. Results We collected 155 women and 19 men with a sex ratio F / H of 8.2. The mean age at the time of the discovery of LN was 32.6 years with a maximum between 15 years and 45 years. The most frequent extra-renal manifestations were articular and dermatological manifestations (79%). Renal symptomatology was dominated by proteinuria noted in all patients, associated to a nephrotic syndrome in 68% of patients. At the time of diagnosis of LN, hematuria was present in 69% of patients and renal failure was present in half of cases. Immunologically, antinuclear antibody were positive in 89.1% of cases, anti DNA positive in 73.4% of cases, anti Sm positive in 79.8% of cases and Antiphospholipids were positive in 50% of cases, associated with an antiphospholipid syndrome in 14.9% of cases. We performed 243 renal biopsies with 174 initial and 69 iterative biopsies. The histological lesions were polymorphic dominated by LN class IV (36.6%) isolated or associated with LN class V (17.7%). All patients received a corticosteroid for induction or maintenance treatment. It was associated with immunosuppressive treatment according to different treatment regimens. The median duration of follow-up was 81.2 months. Renal outcome was marked by complete and sustained remission in 36.7% of cases, incomplete remission with chronic kidney disease in 34.5% of cases, chronic renal failure in 28.7% of cases. At univariate analysis, we identified the young age below 35 years at the time of the discovery of LN, the male sex, increased serum creatinine at the time of biopsy, proliferative forms, the presence of histological signs of chronicity and lesions of thrombotic microangiopathy as predictive factors of poor renal outcomes. Conclusion Lupus nephritis is one of the most common and serious manifestations of Systemic lupus erythematosus. The generalization of renal biopsy, the use of early codified therapeutic protocols and regular monitoring and evaluation of disease activity according to the appropriate scores can improve management and survival of patients with renal impairment.


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