Table 1. Characteristics of untreated systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients with and without infection.
| Features | Non-infection (n=39) | Infection (n=13) | P | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 36.4±13.5 | 31.0±9.6 | 0.192 | ||
| Gender (F / M) | 37 / 3 | 12 / 1 | 1.000 | ||
| Disease duration (months) | 19.8±29.4 | 6.9±13.0 | 0.035 | ||
| Clinical manifestations | |||||
| Fever | 11 (28.2%) | 11 (84.6%) | <0.001 | ||
| New rashes | 28 (71.8%) | 6 (46.2%) | 0.178 | ||
| Arthritis | 16 (41.0%) | 3 (23.1%) | 0.406 | ||
| Serositis | 9 (23.1%) | 11 (84.6%) | <0.001 | ||
| Nephritis | 12 (30.8%) | 5 (38.5%) | 0.864 | ||
| CNS involvement | 2 (5.1%) | 0 (0%) | 1.000 | ||
| Gastrointestinal involvement | 4 (10.3%) | 1 (7.7%) | 1.000 | ||
| Cardiac involvement | 1 (2.6%) | 1 (7.7%) | 0.434 | ||
| Laboratory data | |||||
| ANA antibody positive | 39 (100%) | 13 (100%) | 1.000 | ||
| Anti-SSA antibody positive | 28 (71.8%) | 9 (69.2%) | 1.000 | ||
| Anti-SSB antibody positive | 10 (25.6%) | 3 (23.1%) | 1.000 | ||
| Anti-SM antibody positive | 16 (41.0%) | 7 (53.8%) | 0.420 | ||
| Anti-dsDNA antibody | 374.1±321.3 | 515.0±358.6 | 0.204 | ||
| AnuA | 98.2±85.6 | 119.4±95.1 | 0.489 | ||
| WBC(×109/L) | 4.6±2.2 | 5.0±3.0 | 0.541 | ||
| Hb (g/L) | 110.4±16.0 | 93.0±20.5 | 0.003 | ||
| PLT (×109/L) | 185.4±85.4 | 186.6±106.1 | 0.968 | ||
| ESR (mm/h) | 37.4±27.1 | 60.5±30.1 | 0.013 | ||
| CRP (mg/L) | 9.4±14.9 | 102.7±94.9 | 0.004 | ||
| PCT (μg/L) | 0.16±0.13 | 1.07±0.08 | 0.001 | ||
| IgG (g/L) | 17.9±9.4 | 20.9±6.5 | 0.335 | ||
| IgA (g/L) | 2.6±0.9 | 3.0±1.3 | 0.275 | ||
| IgM (g/L) | 1.3±0.7 | 1.5±1.2 | 0.679 | ||
| C3 (g/L) | 0.45±0.21 | 0.41±0.21 | 0.616 | ||
| C4 (g/L) | 0.087±0.057 | 0.092±0.071 | 0.812 | ||
| 24-h urinary protein (g) | 1.0±2.1 | 1.4±1.2 | 0.565 | ||
| SLEDAI | 10.8±5.3 | 12.3±3.4 | 0.348 |
Data are reported as means±SD or number and percent within parentheses. CNS: central nervous system; ANA: antinuclear antibodies; dsDNA: double-stranded DNA; AnuA: anti-nucleosome antibodies; WBC: white blood cells; Hb: blood hemoglobin; PLT: blood platelets; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rat; CRP: serum levels of C-reactive protein; PCT: procalcitonin; Ig: immunoglobulin, C3: complement 3; C4: complement 4; SLEDAI: systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity index. Significant differences (P<0.05) are shown in bold. Student's t-test, Wilcoxon Rank-Sum test, or the chi-square test were used as appropriate.