Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a complex and heterogeneous autoimmune disease, represents a significant challenge for both diagnosis and treatment. Patients with SLE in Latin America face special problems that should be considered when therapeutic guidelines are developed. The objective of the study is to develop clinical practice guidelines for Latin American patients with lupus. Two independent teams (rheumatologists with experience in lupus management and methodologists) had an initial meeting in Panama City, Panama, in April 2016. They selected a list of questions for the clinical problems most commonly seen in Latin American patients with SLE. These were addressed with the best available evidence and summarised in a standardised format following the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach. All preliminary findings were discussed in a second face-to-face meeting in Washington, DC, in November 2016. As a result, nine organ/system sections are presented with the main findings; an ‘overarching’ treatment approach was added. Special emphasis was made on regional implementation issues. Best pharmacologic options were examined for musculoskeletal, mucocutaneous, kidney, cardiac, pulmonary, neuropsychiatric, haematological manifestations and the antiphospholipid syndrome. The roles of main therapeutic options (ie, glucocorticoids, antimalarials, immunosuppressant agents, therapeutic plasma exchange, belimumab, rituximab, abatacept, low-dose aspirin and anticoagulants) were summarised in each section. In all cases, benefits and harms, certainty of the evidence, values and preferences, feasibility, acceptability and equity issues were considered to produce a recommendation with special focus on ethnic and socioeconomic aspects. Guidelines for Latin American patients with lupus have been developed and could be used in similar settings.

Aim The aim of this study was to identify factors predictive of serious infections over time in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods A multi-ethnic, multi-national Latin American SLE cohort was studied. Serious infection was defined as one that required hospitalization, occurred during a hospitalization or led to death. Potential predictors included were sociodemographic factors, clinical manifestations (per organ involved, lymphopenia and leukopenia, independently) and previous infections at baseline. Disease activity (SLEDAI), damage (SLICC/ACR Damage Index), non-serious infections, glucocorticoids, antimalarials (users and non-users), and immunosuppressive drugs use; the last six variables were examined as time-dependent covariates. Cox regression models were used to evaluate the predictors of serious infections using a backward elimination procedure. Univariable and multivariable analyses were performed. Results Of the 1243 patients included, 1116 (89.8%) were female. The median (interquartile range) age at diagnosis and follow-up time were 27 (20–37) years and 47.8 (17.9–68.6) months, respectively. The incidence rate of serious infections was 3.8 cases per 100 person-years. Antimalarial use (hazard ratio: 0.69; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.48–0.99; p = 0.0440) was protective, while doses of prednisone >15 and ≤60 mg/day (hazard ratio: 4.18; 95 %CI: 1.69–10.31; p = 0.0019) and >60 mg/day (hazard ratio: 4.71; 95% CI: 1.35–16.49; p = 0.0153), use of methylprednisolone pulses (hazard ratio: 1.53; 95% CI: 1.10–2.13; p = 0.0124), increase in disease activity (hazard ratio: 1.03; 95% CI: 1.01–1.04; p = 0.0016) and damage accrual (hazard ratio: 1.22; 95% CI: 1.11–1.34; p < 0.0001) were predictive factors of serious infections. Conclusions Over time, prednisone doses higher than 15 mg/day, use of methylprednisolone pulses, increase in disease activity and damage accrual were predictive of infections, whereas antimalarial use was protective against them in SLE patients.

IMPORTANCEAlthough tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors are widely prescribed globally because of their ability to ameliorate shared immune pathways across immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs), the impact of COVID-19 among individuals with IMIDs who are receiving TNF inhibitors remains insufficiently understood. OBJECTIVE To examine the association between the receipt of TNF inhibitor monotherapy and the risk of COVID-19-associated hospitalization or death compared with other commonly prescribed immunomodulatory treatment regimens among adult patients with IMIDs. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This cohort study was a pooled analysis of data from 3 international COVID-19 registries comprising individuals with rheumatic diseases, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis from March 12, 2020, to February 1, 2021. Clinicians directly reported COVID-19 outcomes as well as demographic and clinical characteristics of individuals with IMIDs and confirmed or suspected COVID-19 using online data entry portals. Adults (age Ն18 years) with a diagnosis of inflammatory arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, or psoriasis were included.EXPOSURES Treatment exposure categories included TNF inhibitor monotherapy (reference treatment), TNF inhibitors in combination with methotrexate therapy, TNF inhibitors in combination with azathioprine/6-mercaptopurine therapy, methotrexate monotherapy, azathioprine/6mercaptopurine monotherapy, and Janus kinase (Jak) inhibitor monotherapy. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURESThe main outcome was COVID-19-associated hospitalization or death. Registry-level analyses and a pooled analysis of data across the 3 registries were conducted using multilevel multivariable logistic regression models, adjusting for demographic and clinical characteristics and accounting for country, calendar month, and registry-level correlations.RESULTS A total of 6077 patients from 74 countries were included in the analyses; of those, 3215 individuals (52.9%) were from Europe, 3563 individuals (58.6%) were female, and the mean (SD) age (continued)

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This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and rheumatic diseases among the indigenous Qom (Toba) population in the city of Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina. An analytical cross-sectional study using methodology of the Community Oriented Program for the Control of Rheumatic Diseases (COPCORD) was performed. Subjects ≥18 years of age were interviewed by advanced students of medicine and nursing, bilingual translator-facilitators, and coordinators. Individuals with musculoskeletal pain (positive cases) were evaluated sequentially for 7 days by internists and rheumatologists for diagnosis and treatment. The study included 1656 individuals (77 % of the census population). Of these, 1020 (61.5 %) were female, with mean age of 35.3 (SD 13.9) years, and 1028 (62.0 %) were bilingual. The public health care system covers 87.1 % of the population. Musculoskeletal pain in the previous 7 days and/or at some time during their life was present in 890 subjects (53.7 %). Of those with pain in the last 7 days, 302 (64.1 %) subjects had an Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index (HAQ-DI) score ≥0.8. The most frequent pain sites were lumbar spine (19.3 %), knees (13.0 %), and hands (12.0 %). The prevalence of rheumatic diseases was as follows: mechanical back pain (20.1 %), rheumatic regional pain syndrome (2.9 %), osteoarthritis (4.0 %) rheumatoid arthritis (2.4 %), inflammatory back pain (0.2 %), systemic sclerosis (0.1 %), Sjögren syndrome (0.1 %), fibromyalgia (0.1 %), mixed connective tissue disease (0.06 %), and systemic lupus erythematosus (0.06 %). The prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders was 53.7 % and rheumatic diseases 29.6 %. Rheumatoid arthritis prevalence was 2.4 % using COPCORD methodology, one of the highest reported at present.