Table 1.

Patient characteristics.

Sex; n = 23
Female; n (%)	19 (82.6%)
Ethnicity; n = 23
Caucasian; n (%)	22 (95.7%)
Black; n (%)	1 (4.3%)
Age (years); M (IQR); n = 23	38.4 (30.4–50.3)
SLE disease duration (years); M (IQR); n = 23	7.7 (4.3–14.4)
SLEDAI-2K; M (IQR); n = 23	9 (7–15)
Prednisone equivalent dose (mg/day); M (IQR); n = 23	10.0 (5.0–10.0)
Previous exposure to corticosteroids (years); M (IQR); n = 23	6.8 (4.2–9.9)
Previous mean prednisone equivalent dose (mg/day); M (IQR); n = 23	10.0 (7.5–15.0)
Number of DMARDs at baseline; M (IQR); n = 23	1 (0–1)
Number of DMARDs ever; M (IQR); n = 23	3 (1–4)
Patients on antimalarials at baseline; M (IQR); n = 23	17 (73.9%)

SLE: systemic lupus erythematosus; SLEDAI-2K: Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index 2000; DMARDs: disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (excluding antimalarials); M: median; IQR: interquartile range.