The aim was to determine the course, outcome, and determinants of mortality in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in intensive care unit (ICU). SLE patients admitted to ICU from 2004 to 2015 were recruited retrospectively. Demographic data, disease characteristics, causes of admission, baseline SLE disease activity index-2K (SLEDAI-2K) and Acute Physiologic and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE) score, the outcome, and the causes of death were recorded. Predictors of mortality were compared between alive and dead patients by Cox regression analysis. Ninety-four patients with SLE were enrolled. Mean age at the time of ICU admission was 29.6 years. Average scores of SLEDAI and APACHE II were 11.3 and 19.8, respectively. The most common causes of ICU admission were pneumonia, diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (DAH), and seizure. Forty-seven patients (50%) died in ICU. The principal causes of death were septic shock (25.5%), multi-organ failure (12.5%), DAH (10.6%), and pneumonia (10.6%). After multivariate analysis, high APACHE II, septic shock, and duration of mechanical ventilation were indicators of survival outcome. Mean (95% CI) survival days in ICU in patients with and without respiratory failure were 14.6 (10.4-18.9) and 28.7 (17.9-39.5) days, respectively (P = 0.001). This figure for those with and without septic shock was 13.5 (4.9-11.1) and 22.3 (9.3-24.7) days, respectively (P = 0.016). High APACHE II, septic shock, and duration of mechanical ventilation were the main predictors of death in patients with SLE in ICU. Multicenter studies are needed to draw a fine picture of SLE behavior in ICU.
Osteonecrosis of bone is a major cause of morbidity in lupus patients, and is most common in the femoral head. It has been reported in wide range of patients (2-30%). In different studies presence of arthritis, Raynaud phenomenon, vasculitis, pleuritis, antiphospholipid and other factors were associated with this occurrence. Bone infarcts were also associated with these factors. We report a 21-year-old patient who was diagnosed as SLE about 3 years ago. When the patient was stable with hydroxychloroquine and prednisolone referred to rheumatologic clinic for mechanical knee pain, in evaluation she had bone infarct in distal femur. Two months later she came back with bilateral hip pain, and in evaluation she had bilateral osteonecrosis of femoral heads. There are many reports of femoral head osteonecrosis in lupus patients, and also one report of multiple bone infarct and pain in SLE, but we did not find any report of these two phenomena together in a patient whose disease was controlled and she took minimum of steroid and DMARD in the about 2-month follow-up, and this was very interesting for us.
This study was conducted to assess the ability of the British Isles Lupus Assessment Group-2004 (BILAG-2004), the SLE Disease Activity Index-2K (SLEDAI-2K), the European Consensus Lupus Activity Measurement (ECLAM), and the Revised Systemic Lupus Activity Measure (SLAM-R) to detect the need to treatment change in daily clinical practice. One hundred and two patients with SLE were enrolled and followed up for 2 to 8 months and visited at least 3 times. Physician Global Assessment, BILAG-2004, SLEDAI-2K, SLAM-R, and ECLAM, were calculated in every visit. Treatment change, dependent variable, was categorized as decrease/no change vs. increase. The aforementioned indices, independent variables, were compared to learn their ability in predicting the treatment change. The probability of treatment change was measured by generalized linear-mixed effect model (GLMM) and generalized estimating equations (GEE). Adjusted odds ratios were calculated. Predictive power of indices was compared by area under the curve (AUC) in plots of sensitivity vs. 1-specificity and application of receiver operating characteristic curves (ROC). BILAG-2004 and SLEDAI-2K had substantial correlation with treatment change. Among different GLMM models, BILAG-2004 followed by SLEDAI-2K showed the highest associations with treatment change. Among various GEE models, similar findings were observed. Also, these 2 indices had the highest sensitivity (the largest AUC) towards treatment change; BILAG-2004 (AUC = 0.779, 95% CI = 0.710-0.848, p = 0.001) and SLEDAI-2K (AUC = 0.771, 95% CI = 0.698-0.843, p = 0.001). BILAG-2004 followed by SLEDAI-2K had the highest predictability of treatment change.
We aimed to evaluate the therapeutic effects of atorvastatin on systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity index (SLEDAI). Ninety patients with SLE were consented and randomized to receive either atorvastatin, 20 mg/day, or placebo for 3 months. The primary outcome was change in SLEDAI. Lipids, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and C-reactive protein (CRP) were assessed as secondary end points. Analysis was done by "intention to treat" (ITT) as the primary analysis and "treatment completed analysis" (TCA) as the supplementary analysis. Demographic features, baseline characteristics, and distribution of medications were not significantly different between the two groups. Mean SLEDAI score at baseline in both groups was 3 ± 0.5. By TCA and ITT, mean SLEDAI scores decreased to 1.7 ± 0.4 and 2.7 ± 0.5, respectively, in the atorvastatin group and 3 ± 0.4 and 3 ± 0.5, respectively, in the control group. The difference between the two groups after intervention was significant by TCA (P < 0.05) and nonsignificant by ITT analysis (P = 0.1). The effect of atorvastatin therapy on lupus activity was inconclusive.
Our study revealed that the survival rate of SLE is comparable with the acceptable worldwide trend. Presenting with pericarditis and seizure at the time of SLE diagnosis prominently decreased the survival rate. Prospective and multicenter studies are needed to better identify the behavior of SLE in Iran.
Background:Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by synovial tissue inflammation and destruction of articular components which if not controlled properly, can cause disability in patients. For this reason, evaluation of disease activity and its control is very important. In recent years using sonography is promising for the evaluation of disease activity. This study aimed to compare “clinical examination” and “ultrasonography” methods in the detection of disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.Materials and Methods:This cross-sectional study was conducted during 2015 in Al-Zahra Hospital of Isfahan. Based on the American College of Rheumatology 2010 criteria, ninety patients with rheumatoid arthritis who diagnosed by rheumatologist entered into the study. All patients, collaborator by radiologists were subjected to sonography of specific joints structures using two methods, i.e., high-resolution ultrasonography and power Doppler.Results:A total of 2520 joints from ninety patients were examined by physical examination and ultrasonography that 244 joints (9.7%) in physical examination and 348 joints (13.4%) in ultrasonography were involved and the difference between the two groups was statistically significant (P < 0.001).Conclusion:Probably, ultrasonography can diagnose joint involvement better than physical examination in patients with Rheumatoid arthritis.
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