Table 2.
Clinical and serological features at the time of inclusion
| HC (n = 22) | iSLE (n = 29) | SLE (n = 39) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLEDAI (median, range) | NA | 0 (0–6) | 2 (0–4) |
| Presence of clinical symptoms (n, %) | NA | ||
| Active cutaneous lupus | 5 (17) | 4 (10) | |
| Photosensitivity | 9 (31) | 8 (21) | |
| Arthritis | 1 (3) | 0 | |
| Alopecia | 0 | 0 | |
| Objectified ulcera | 0 | 1 (3) | |
| Hematologic features | 11 (38) | 19 (49) | |
| Serositis | 0 | 0 | |
| Renal features | 0 | 1 (3) | |
| Neurologic features | 2 (7) | 0 | |
| Laboratory results | |||
| ANA titer | 40 (40–160) | 160 (40–640*)• | 80 (40–640*)• |
| Anti-dsDNA positive (n, %) | 0 | 8 (28) | 16 (41) |
| Anti-SSA positive (n, %) | 0 | 12 (41) | 12 (31) |
| Anti-Smith positive (n, %) | 0 | 1 (3) | 5 (13) |
| Anti-U1RNP (n, %) | 0 | 2 (7) | 5 (13) |
| Decreased complement (n, %) | 0 | 6 (21) | 15 (39) |
| Antiphospolipid antibodies (n, %) | 0 | 10 (35) | 12 (31) |
| ESR (mm/h) | 5 (1–15) | 19 (3–51)• | 14 (3–96)• |
| Hb (mmol/) | 8.20 (7.5–9.1) | 8.3 (7.0–9.4) | 8.0 (6.2–9.8) |
| Leukocytes (×109/L) | 5.20 (4.5–7.4) | 6.0 (2.6–9.2) | 5.5 (2.3–11.9) |
| Lymphocytes (×109/L) | 1.8 (1.3–2.9) | 1.6 (0.5–3.2)‡ | 1.2 (0.3–3.1)• |
| Thrombocytes (×109/L) | 226 (184–363) | 241 (135–406) | 230 (112–369) |
| CRP (mg/L) | 0.8 (0.3–3.3) | 2.4 (0.3–24)• | 1.7 (0.3–37) |
| GFR (mL/min) | 98 (76–115) | 91 (53–121) | 91.5 (48–123) |
| C3 (g/L) | 1.05 (0.68–1.23) | 1.07 (0.04–1.47) | 1.01 (0.54–1.37) |
| C4 (g/L) | 0.16 (0.10–0.28) | 0.20 (0.07–0.38)‡ | 0.16 (0.05–0.34) |
| IgM (g/L) | 1.3 (0.40–1.90) | 0.95 (0.20–3.20) | 0.7 (0.4–5.1) |
| IgG (g/L) | 11.4 (8.9–16.1) | 12.7 (7.2–25.4) | 11.4 (5.0–19.5) |
| Drugs, n (%) | NA | ||
| Hydroxychloroquine | 9 (31) | 33 (85) | |
| NSAID | 8 (29) | 7 (18) | |
| Prednisolone | 0 | 12 (31) | |
| Dose (median, range) | 0 | 7.5 (5–10) | |
| Mycophenolate | 0 | 10 (26) | |
| Azathioprine | 0 | 6 (15) | |
| Methotrexate | 0 | 2 (5) | |
•p value < 0.05 comparing with HC
‡p value < 0.05 comparing with SLE
*ANA titers higher than 640 and SSA titers higher than 240 were not further diluted
For continuous data, median (range) are shown. p values of nominal values are calculated using chi-square test and continuous values using Mann-Whitney U test
Abbreviations: NA not applicable, ANA antinuclear antibody, Anti-dsDNA anti-double-stranded DNA, SLEDAI systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity index, ESR erythrocyte sedimentation rate, NSAID non-steroid anti-inflammatory drug