Undiagnosed systemic lupus erythematosus in a cohort of infertile women.
OBJECTIVE
Systemic lupus erythematosous (SLE) is a chronic disease with a broad spectrum of clinical and immunological manifestations, therefore, this condition may be frequently misdiagnosed. The current study was conducted to determine the prevalence of undiagnosed SLE among a cohort of infertile women.


METHODS
Screening was performed using sequential (two stage) testing, which included a self-completed questionnaire followed by an antinuclear antibody (ANA) test. The Liang screening questionnaire was distributed to 143 consecutive infertile patients, aged 24-42 years (mean, 33.6 +/- 4.7 years), who were receiving in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment. Patients who completed the questionnaire with three or more positive answers, were sent for ANA testing; those who tested positive (>or=1:40) were referred to the Clinical Immunology Unit for anti-double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) antibody test and clinical assessment.


RESULTS
A total of 136 women (95.1%) completed the questionnaire. Thirteen patients (9.6%) answered yes to three or more questions. Of these, five patients (3.7%) were ANA-positive and two (1.5%) had undiagnosed SLE.


CONCLUSIONS
A 1.5% prevalence of undiagnosed SLE was found in our cohort of infertile women. Additional investigations should be performed as to the role of SLE screening in infertile female population; a high-risk group with regard to ovulation induction treatments.
Geva
Eli
E
The IVF Unit, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Lis Maternity Hospital, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel. eli.geva@weizmann.ac.il
Lerner-Geva
Liat
L
Burke
Michael
M
Vardinon
Nurit
N
Lessing
Joseph B
JB
Amit
Ami
A
D000328:Adult; D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear / Q000097:blood; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro; D006801:Humans; D007247:Infertility, Female / Q000150:complications*; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear