title: Lupus erythematosus in the 1980s: a survey of 570 patients.
abstract: Five hundred seventy lupus erythematosus patients observed in a private practice between 1980 and 1989 were surveyed. Fifty-five percent were diagnosed after 1980. Five hundred three fulfilled criteria for systemic lupus erythematosus ( [SLE]; 464 idiopathic, 23 overlap, 16 drug-induced) and 67 had biopsy-documented cutaneous (discoid) lupus. In the idiopathic SLE group, symptoms began at a mean age of 31 years and patients were observed for a mean of 6 years. Findings in idiopathic SLE patients were (1) 27% have a family history of autoimmune disease; (2) nephritis patients without nephrotic syndrome rarely develop renal failure (4%); (3) nephrotic syndrome patients are relatively cyclophosphamide-resistant; (4) organ-threatening disease is present in 54%; and (5) 13% of women who become pregnant are recurrent aborters and 26% never conceive. In an analysis of cohort data, 5- and 10-year survivals were 97% +/- 2% and 93% +/- 3%, respectively. Additionally, men and patients with renal disease or thrombocytopenia had a poorer prognosis. Blacks had similar clinical findings and survival to whites. Approximately 50% of deaths were from active disease and 50% from complications of therapy. Prolonged survival has resulted from new diagnostic procedures and serologic tests, and improved antibiotics and antihypertensive agents, as well as more efficacious treatment modalities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine/Division of Rheumatology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center/UCLA School of Medicine.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pistiner
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Wallace
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nessim
authors.forename: A L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Metzger
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Klinenberg
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000235:genetics; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications; D044469:Racial Groups; D012737:Sex Factors; D016019:Survival Analysis