Objectives The aim of the present work was to study the clinical characteristics of cutaneous vasculitis (CV) in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients and find possible potential key players in its development and implicated associations with the disease manifestations. Patients and methods Fifty adult female SLE patients underwent full history taking, thorough clinical examination and laboratory investigations. The SLE Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI) and accumulated damage using the Systemic Lupus International Collaborative Clinics/American College of Rheumatology Damage Index (SLICC/ACR DI) were assessed. Results The mean age of the patients was 29.1 ± 6.1 years and was significantly lower in those with CV ( p = 0.018). The disease duration was 4.9 ± 3.7 years. CV was present in 30% of the patients. Musculoskeletal manifestations and hypocomplementemia were present in all patients with CV. The SLEDAI and SLICC/ACR DI tended to be higher in those with CV. Complement (C3 and C4) was significantly consumed in CV patients ( p < 0.0001). Antiphospholipids were comparable between those with and without CV. Lupus nephritis, cardiovascular manifestations and Sjögren syndrome were significantly linked to the development of CV ( p = 0.025, p = 0.023 and p < 0.0001, respectively). Both C3 and C4 showed a high sensitivity (93.3% and 86.7%) to detect CV in SLE at cut-off values below 81.4 mg/dl and 16.8 mg/dl, respectively. Conclusion CV is closely related to hypocomplementemia but not to antiphospholipids and is associated with lupus nephritis, musculoskeletal manifestations and Sjögren syndrome.
Osteoarticular manifestations of brucellosis are prevalent and subclinical sacroiliitis is evident, a finding that may classify these patients as having brucellar spondyloarthropathy (BSA). Referring brucellosis patients for rheumatological assessment has the advantage of early assessment of asymptomatic cases with sacroiliitis which is commonly overlooked.
Aim of the work: To assess the carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and plaque formation in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients with and without antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) by doppler ultrasonography and to correlate it with the clinical features, disease activity and damage.Patients and methods: Thirty-six female SLE patients with secondary APS and another 36 without were included. Thirty-six matching healthy volunteers were included as control. In patients, the disease activity and damage were assessed using the SLE Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI) and Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC) index, respectively. Doppler ultrasound was carried out for patients and control and the IMT was measured.Results: The demographic and clinical characteristics of patients are presented. The disease activity was significantly higher in SLE patients with APS (19.7 ± 7.9) compared to SLE only patients (15.1 ± 9.2) (p = 0.03). The low density lipoprotein (LDL) was significantly increased in APS patients (p = 0.04). The IMT was comparable between both groups (0.83 ± 0.15 mm) vs (0.86 ± 0.2 mm) (p = 0.55) and both were significantly increased compared to the control (0.61 ± 0.11 mm) (p < 0.0001). The dyslipidemia present in the patients showed a significant difference in the measured lipid profile parameters (p < 0.0001). The IMT significantly correlated with the SLEDAI in both groups (p < 0.002 and <0.001 respectively).Conclusion: The increased IMT as a marker of atherosclerosis is confirmed in SLE patients with no obvious difference in those with secondary APS. The link between the increased IMT and disease activity favors the role of disease-specific potential risk factors, in addition to the traditional conventional ones, in the development of atherosclerosis.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.