Clusters of clinical and immunologic features in systemic lupus erythematosus: analysis of 600 patients from a single center
Section snippets
Patient selection
Patients were consecutively seen in our unit either as inpatients or outpatients between 1980 and 2001. All had documented medical histories and underwent a medical interview as well as a general physical examination. Clinical and serologic characteristics of all patients were consecutively collected in a protocol form. Salient features included were 1) age at onset of the disease, defined as the initial manifestation clearly attributable to SLE; 2) age at diagnosis, defined as the age when the
General characteristics
The final cohort (survival cohort) consisted of 533 (89%) women and 67 (11%) men (female to male ratio, 8:1) enrolled in a 22-year period (average, 29 new patients per year). Mean age at onset of symptoms attributable to the disease was 31.1 ± 0.6 years (range, 5 to 84 years); mean age at the time of diagnosis of SLE was 32.7 ± 0.6 years (range, 6 to 85 years). Mean age at protocol entry was 37.2 ± 0.6 years (range, 8 to 85 years). Evolution of the disease from the onset of symptoms to protocol
Discussion
This study analyzed the prevalence and characteristics of clinical and immunologic features in a large cohort of SLE patients from a single center that follows all the cases diagnosed within its referral area. Patients were derived from a variety of specialists, mainly internists, rheumatologists, nephrologists, and dermatologists. Only patients with 4 or more of the 1997 American College of Rheumatology criteria for SLE classification (7) were included in our survivor cohort, thus avoiding
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Josep Vivancos, Albert Bové, Alfons López-Soto, Lucio Pallarés, Margarita Navarro, Carles Miret, Francisco José Muñoz, Gerard Espinosa, Sonia Jiménez, and Pilar Brito for their contribution to this article. They also thank David Buss for his editorial assistance.
Josep Font, MD, PhD: Consultant, Department of Autoimmune Diseases, IDIBAPS, Hospital Clı́nic, School of Medicine, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
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Cited by (0)
Josep Font, MD, PhD: Consultant, Department of Autoimmune Diseases, IDIBAPS, Hospital Clı́nic, School of Medicine, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Ricard Cervera, MD, PhD: Consultant, Department of Autoimmune Diseases, IDIBAPS, Hospital Clı́nic, School of Medicine, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Manuel Ramos-Casals, MD, PhD: Specialist Physician, Department of Autoimmune Diseases, IDIBAPS, Hospital Clı́nic, School of Medicine, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
Mario Garcı́a-Carrasco, MD, PhD: Research Fellow, Department of Autoimmune Diseases, IDIBAPS, Hospital Clı́nic, Barcelona, Spain, and Professor of Rheumatology, Rheumatology Unit, School of Medicine, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Puebla, México
Juan Sentı́s, MD, PhD: Specialist Physician, Statistic Unit, Department of Public Health, School of Medicine, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
Carme Herrero, MD, PhD: Consultant, Department of Dermatology, IDIBAPS, Hospital Clı́nic, School of Medicine, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
José Antonio del Olmo, MD: Specialist Physician, Department of Rheumatology, Hospital Clı́nic, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Alexandre Darnell, MD, PhD: Senior Consultant, Department of Nephrology, IDIBAPS, Hospital Clı́nic, School of Medicine, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Miguel Ingelmo MD, PhD: Professor of Medicine, Department of Autoimmune Diseases, IDIBAPS, Hospital Clı́nic, School of Medicine, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.