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Updated: Mar 21, 2026
Analyses of Proteinuria, Renal Infiltration of Leukocytes, and Renal Deposition of Proteins in Lupus-prone MRL/lpr Mice
Published on: June 8, 2022
Role of lupus retinopathy in systemic lupus erythematosus
Ranju Kharel Sitaula1, Dev Narayan Shah2, Divya Singh3
1Department of Ophthalmology, B. P. Koirala Lions Centre for Ophthalmic Studies, Tribhuvan University Institute of Medicine, PO Box-5889, Maharajgunj, Kathmandu, Nepal. helloranju50@yahoo.com.
Background:
Lupus retinopathy is one of the most common vision-threatening complications of systemic lupus erythematosus. The presence of lupus retinopathy is an accurate guide to the presence of active systemic disease activity.
Results:
A prospective study was conducted looking at 91 established cases of systemic lupus erythematosus to evaluate lupus retinopathy. The patients were divided into two groups according to the presence or absence of lupus retinopathy, and a comparison of clinical and laboratory findings between two groups was done. Among 91 SLE patients, 5 were male and 86 were female; of which, 85 (93.4 %) were outpatients and 6 (6.6 %) were inpatients. Lupus retinopathy was found in 13 eyes of 11 cases out of 91 cases (12.1 %). Among these 13 eyes with lupus retinopathy, 61.5 % had mild type of lupus retinopathy, 15.4 % had moderate type, and 23.1 % had severe lupus retinopathy. The mean age of the cases at ophthalmological examination with and without retinopathy was 30.4 and 31.9 years, respectively. The mean serum creatinine level was 190.4 μmol/l which was higher than in the patients without retinopathy (96.2 μmol/l). The mean ESR in patients with retinopathy was higher than without retinopathy (34.2 vs. 32). Similarly, the mean platelet count in SLE patients with retinopathy was 154,245/μl and in SLE patients without retinopathy was 135,828/μl.
Conclusions:
Retinal lesions in SLE patients are of critical importance, both visually and prognostically.
