Table 3.
Cumulative manifestations and treatment patterns of the SLE clusters.
| Cluster 1 | Cluster 2 | Cluster 3 | p-Value a | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (n = 131) | (n = 183) | (n = 75) | Overall | 1 vs. 2 | 1 vs. 3 | 2 vs. 3 | |
| Number of CMs, n (%) | 1.4 ± 1.3 | 0.9 ± 0.9 | 0.8 ± 1 | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.002 | 0.901 |
| Number of CMs of ≥ 2, n (%) | 49 (37.7) | 41 (22.4) | 16 (21.3) | 0.006 | 0.004 | 0.019 | 1.000 |
| Oral ulcer, n (%) | 18 (13.7) | 43 (23.5) | 15 (20) | 0.095 | 0.042 | 0.244 | 0.624 |
| Malar rash, n (%) | 35 (26.7) | 27 (14.8) | 8 (10.7) | 0.006 | 0.010 | 0.007 | 0.430 |
| Alopecia, n (%) | 35 (26.9) | 19 (10.4) | 12 (16) | 0.001 | <0.001 | 0.085 | 0.212 |
| Arthritis, n (%) | 42 (32.1) | 52 (28.4) | 16 (21.3) | 0.263 | 0.533 | 0.110 | 0.278 |
| Renal disease, n (%) | 46 (35.1) | 24 (13.1) | 12 (16) | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.004 | 0.556 |
| Serositis, n (%) | 2 (1.5) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0) | 0.150 | 0.173 | 0.535 | NA |
| SLEDAI score * | 7.2 ± 4.9 | 3.0 ± 3.2 | 2.4 ± 2.7 | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.548 |
| SLICC/ACR damage index | 0.4 ± 0.9 | 0.4 ± 1.0 | 0.4 ± 0.9 | 0.993 | 0.992 | 0.999 | 0.998 |
| Hydroxychloroquine use, n (%) | 81 (61.8) | 138 (75.4) | 57 (76) | 0.021 | 0.013 | 0.045 | 1.000 |
| Current glucocorticoid use, n (%) | 120 (91.6) | 159 (86.9) | 65 (86.7) | 0.385 | 0.208 | 0.339 | 1.000 |
| Total glucocorticoid dose, mg | 8465.9 ± 10,962 | 5306.0 ± 8645.4 | 5611.1 ± 6466.9 | 0.008 | 0.008 | 0.080 | 0.968 |
| Mean glucocorticoid dose, mg | 67.1 ± 76 | 37.8 ± 54.1 | 51.5 ± 82.3 | 0.001 | 0.001 | 0.254 | 0.305 |
| Azathioprine use, n (%) | 35 (26.7) | 22 (12) | 14 (18.7) | 0.004 | 0.001 | 0.235 | 0.170 |
| Cyclophosphamide use, n (%) | 19 (14.5) | 4 (2.2) | 3 (4) | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.019 | 0.418 |
| MMF use, n (%) | 17 (13) | 12 (6.6) | 5 (6.7) | 0.127 | 0.074 | 0.240 | 1.000 |
| Methotrexate use, n (%) | 14 (10.7) | 31 (16.9) | 13 (17.3) | 0.243 | 0.142 | 0.200 | 1.000 |
CM, cumulative manifestation; MMF, mycophenolate mofetil; SLE, systemic lupus erythematosus; SLEDAI, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index; SLICC/ACR, Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/American College of Rheumatology. a p-Values were calculated using ANOVA with Tukey’s and Fisher’s exact tests. Continuous variables are presented as means ± standard deviations. * Most recent clinical visit.