Table 1.
Demographics and baseline clinical characteristics
| CE interviewsa (N = 33) | |
|---|---|
| Gender, % (n) | |
| Male | 3 (1) |
| Female | 97 (32) |
| Mean age (SD), years | 47.0 (11.13) |
| Age range, years | 24–71 |
| Ethnicity, % (n/N) | |
| Caucasian | 50 (16/32) |
| African American | 31 (10/32) |
| Asian | 3 (1/32) |
| Latino/Hispanic | 13 (4/32) |
| Other | 3 (1/32) |
| SLE severity during 6 months prior to baseline, % (n) | |
| Mild | 45 (15) |
| Moderate | 52 (17) |
| Severe | 3 (1) |
| Mean SELENA-SLEDAI (SD) (n = 30) | 6.8 (3.36) |
| Mean SLICC (SD) (n = 18) | 5.8 (1.54) |
| Current SLE treatment, %b (n) | |
| Hydroxychloroquine | 67 (22) |
| Belimumab | 18 (6) |
| NSAIDs | 15 (5) |
| Methotrexate | 12 (4) |
| Currently receiving steroids, % (n) | 58 (19) |
| Average steroid dose of current users (n = 18), mg/day | 8.7 ± 5.35 (range: 4–20) |
| Mean (min, max) duration of steroid use (n = 23), months | 41.7 (0.2, 144) |
| Reasons for initiating steroid use, % (n/N) | |
| To treat an SLE flare | 26 (5/19) |
| To control swelling (hands or other body parts) | 16 (3/19) |
| To treat joint pain and stiffness | 16 (3/19) |
| To treat autoimmune thrombocytopenia/low platelet count | 16 (3/19) |
CE concept elicitation, N number of patients with data available, NSAIDs non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, SD standard deviation, SELENA-SLEDAI Safety of Estrogens in Lupus Erythematosus National Assessment-Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index, SLE systemic lupus erythematosus, SLICC systemic lupus international collaborating clinics
aPatients who answered questions regarding their steroid experience; where n does not equal 33, data were missing
b13 patients were receiving more than one treatment