title: Echocardiographic abnormalities in a cohort of Chinese patients with systemic lupus erythematosus--a retrospective analysis of eighty-five cases.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate echocardiographic abnormalities in a cohort of Chinese patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
  
  
  METHODS
  Eighty-five SLE patients who were hospitalized at our institution from January 2008 to June 2009 were included. Their clinical manifestations, electrocardiogram, chest x-ray, CT scan, and echocardiographic data were analyzed in relation to age, disease duration, and SLE disease activity index (SLEDAI).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Echocardiography showed abnormalities in 53 patients (62.35%), involving valves in 56.5% (n = 48), pericardium in 25.9%, left and right ventricle enlargement in 17.65% and 1.18%, respectively, and auricle in 10.59% and 1.18% of the patients, respectively. The left ventricle showed decreased compliance in 10.29%, impaired relaxation in 14.12%, and abnormal wall motion in 42.35% of the patients. Interventricular septum thickness, left ventricular posterior wall thickness, and isovolumic relaxation time were positively correlated with age (r = 0.42, 0.33, and 0.39, respectively, p < 0.01 for all variables), and disease duration (r = 0.22, 0.21, and 0.32, respectively; p < 0.05). Left atrial and ventricular size were correlated with age (r = 0.32 and 0.41, p > 0.01) and SLEDAI (p < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cardiac, especially valvular abnormalities are common in SLE patients and increase with age and disease duration and activity. Inclusion of echocardiography in the clinical evaluation of SLE patients could help identify an important subset of patients with cardiac abnormalities.
authors.affiliation: Department Of Rheumatology, People's Hospital Affiliated to Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, No. 602, Middle Road 817, Fuzhou 350004, China.
authors.forename: Xuan-Hua
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Yi-Nong
authors.initials: YN
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D004452:Echocardiography; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed