Table 2.
Comparison of characteristics between SLE patients with and without organ damage accrual stratified by SLICC damage index score
| SDI = 0 (n = 24) | SDI ≥ 1 (n = 16) | p value* | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female, n (%) | 23 (96) | 14 (88) | 0.553 |
| Age of onset, median (IQR), years | 29 (24–41) | 36 (24–46) | 0.456 |
| Observation period, median (IQR), years | 7.9 (4.3–9.6) | 5.7 (1.2–9.6) | 0.308 |
| SLEDAI-2K at baseline, median (IQR), score | 10 (8–14) | 14 (8–19) | 0.207 |
| Lupus nephritisa, n (%) | 9 (38) | 11 (69) | 0.105 |
| Lupus anticoagulant positive, n (%) | 5 (21) | 7 (44) | 0.166 |
| Anti-cardiolipin antibody positive, n (%) | 11 (46) | 8 (50) | 0.999 |
| Number of patients who had flareb, n (%) | 14 (58) | 8 (50) | 0.748 |
| Number of flares/patient, median (IQR), n | 1 (0–1.75) | 0.5 (0–1.75) | 0.647 |
| Serum IFN activity at baseline, median (IQR), score | 57.3 (17.9–137.2) | 150 (51.1–275.4) | 0.018 |
| Serum IFN activity at 2nd point, median (IQR), score | 0.2 (0.0–6.0) | 0.9 (0.0–15.5) | 0.639 |
| Induction dose of prednisolone, median (IQR), mg/day | 38 (30–50) | 43 (33–50) | 0.273 |
| Methylprednisolone pulse, n (%) | 0 (0) | 4 (25) | 0.020 |
| IVCY, n (%) | 2 (8) | 7 (44) | 0.018 |
| MMF, n (%) | 8 (33) | 8 (50) | 0.339 |
| HCQ, n (%) | 5 (21) | 7 (44) | 0.166 |
| CNIs, n (%) | 11 (46) | 9 (56) | 0.748 |
CNIs calcineurin inhibitors, HCQ hydroxychloroquine, IFN type I interferon, IVCY intravenous cyclophosphamide, MMF mycophenolate mofetil, SDI Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC) damage index, SLEDAI-2K SLE Disease Activity Index 2000
aThe presence of lupus nephritis (LN) was defined as proteinuria ≥ 0.5 g/24 h or biopsy-proven nephritis compatible with SLE according to the EULAR/ACR2019 criteria renal domain [23]
bDisease flares were assessed according to the modified Safety of Estrogen in Lupus Erythematosus National Assessment (SELENA)-SLEDAI Flare Index without the physician global assessment (PGA) score [29]
*p values were calculated with the chi-square test, Fisher’s exact test, or Mann-Whitney test. p values < 0.05 were considered significant