Proposed modifications to 1982 ACR classification criteria for systemic lupus erythematosus: serositis criterion

The SLICC group believed that the definition of pleuritis should be expanded to include new pleural thickening and pericarditis to include characteristic history. Furthermore, SLICC suggested the addition of abdominal serositis to the current serositis criterion, manifested as either diffuse abdominal pain, with rebound or guarding, and/or ascites or bowel wall edema in the absence of other causes. Abdominal serositis can be secondary to either acute or chronic lupus peritonitis, with the former usually presenting as acute, generalized pain, and the latter as painless ascites.