Table 2.
Clinical and treatment features at the last visit before flare.
| All Flares (n = 134) | OFs (n = 96) | IAFs (n = 38) | Viral IAFs (n = 13) | Bacterial IAFs (n = 23) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disease activity measures: median (IQR) | |||||
| SLEDAI-2K | 2(0–4) | 2 (0–4) | 2 (2–4) | 2 (0–2) | 2 (2–4) |
| PGA | 0 (0–1) | 0 (0–1) | 0 (0–0) | 0 (0–1) | 0 (0–1) |
| Patient-reported NRS | 7 (6–8) | 8 (7–8) | 8 (7–9) | 7 (7–8) | 8 (7–9) |
| Serology: n (%) | |||||
| Anti-dsDNA | 87 (65) | 56 (58) | 18 (47) | 5 (38) | 10 (43) |
| Low complement (C3 and/or C4) | 71 (52) | 43 (44) | 16 (42) | 4 (31) | 13 (57) |
| Treatment status: n (%) | |||||
| Hydroxychloroquine | 120 (90) | 88 (92) | 32 (84) | 11 (85) | 19 (83) |
| Immunosuppressants | |||||
| MTX | 12 (9) | 7 (7) | 1 (2) | 0 (0) | 1 (4) |
| AZA | 24 (18) | 18 (18) | 7 (18) | 2 (15) | 5 (22) |
| MMF | 44 (32) | 38 (39) | 7 (18) | 2 (15) | 5 (22) |
| CyA | 4(3) | 3 (3) | 1 (3) | 0 (0) | 1 (4) |
| Belimumab | 21 (15) | 16 (16) | 3 (8) | 1 (8) | 2 (9) |
| Treatment changes: n (%) | |||||
| Corticosteroid tapering | 21 (16) | 10 (10) | 11 (29) * | 4 (31) | 6 (26) |
| Corticosteroid discontinuation | 13 (10) | 9 (9) | 4 (10) | 2 (5) | 2 (9) |
| Immunosuppressant discontinuation | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) |
SLEDAI-2K: Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index 2000; PGA: physician global assessment scale; NRS: numerical rating scale; MTX: methotrexate; AZA: Azathioprine; MMF: mycophenolate mofetil; CyA: cyclosporine A. *: p < 0.05 compared to OFs.