A cross‑sectional hospital based study of clinical and immunological profile of systemic lupus erythematosus patients from central rural India

Introduction: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multisystem autoimmune disorder, the expression of which is greatly influenced by the combined effect of genetic, environmental, demographic and geographical factors. Various studies regarding clinical and immunological profile of SLE patients in India has been reported from a different region of India, especially from the urban area. We performed this study to understand the clinical and immunological profile of the SLE patients presenting to tertiary care center in rural central India. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted at a rural teaching hospital in central India. All patients' records from 2007 to 2012 available with hospital having a discharge diagnosis of SLE and fulfilling the revised American College of Rheumatology criteria (1997) for SLE were analyzed regarding clinical and immunological profile. Results: We found 87 SLE patients out of 52,133 patients admitted in medicine department from 2007 to 2012 in the hospital record and included in the analysis. Nearly, 98% patients were female and 84% patients were under the age of 40 years. Common features present in these patients were immunological (97.7%), mucocutaneous (83.9%), hematological (72.4%) and renal (69.0%). Malar rash was the most common clinical feature presented in 71.3% patients followed by photosensitivity (63.2%) and oral ulcers (42.5%). Lymphopenia was the most common hematological abnormality present in 48.3%. Involvement of neurological, cardiovascular and respiratory system was found to be less common. Anti-nuclear antibodies were found to be positive in nearly 98% patients. Conclusion: Analysis of clinical profile of hospitalized SLE patients shows that the disease is more common in female patients, especially during the child bearing age group. The present study shows high frequency of mucocutaneous, hematological and renal manifestation in these patients.