Management of non-renal non-neurologic persistent lupus activity in real world patients from Argentina

Management of systemic lupus erythematosus patients is challenging because of disease heterogeneity. Although treatment of renal nephritis is more standardized, treating non-renal lupus activity remains controversial. Our objective was to identify non-renal, non-neurologic persistent active systemic lupus erythematosus patients in our cohort and described therapeutic behaviors in them. All systemic lupus erythematosus patients (American College of Rheumatology and/or Systemic Lupus Erythematosus International Collaborating Clinics criteria) seen at a university hospital between 2000 and 2017 were included and electronic medical records manually reviewed. Persistent lupus activity was defined as a patient with a Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index score ≥ 6 (without renal and central nervous system manifestations) despite being on a stable treatment regimen for ≥ 30 days. Stable treatment could include prednisone alone (7.5-40 mg/d) or combined with antimalarial drugs and immunosuppressant therapies. A total of 257 lupus patients were included, 230 females (89.5%, 95% confidence interval 85.1-92.7), mean age at diagnosis 29.9 years (SD 16.4). After a median cohort follow-up of 5.7 years (interquartile range 2.4-10.2), 14 patients (5.4%, 95% confidence interval 3.2-9.0) showed persistent non-renal non neurologic lupus activity, with a median disease duration of 11.3 years (interquartile range 3.6-19.4). At that time, 12/14 (85.7 %, 95% confidence interval 52.6-97.0%) had low complement and 11/14 (78.6 %, 95% confidence interval 46.5-93.9%) had positive antiDNA antibodies. The main reasons for being refractory were mucocutaneous disease (50%, 95% confidence interval 23.5-76.5) and arthritis (42.9%, 95% confidence interval 18.5-71.2). Therapeutic choices after being refractory were: only increasing corticosteroid dose in one patient, starting rituximab in four, belimumab in eight, and in one mycophenolate and rituximab; with good response in all of them. In conclusion, 5.4% of systemic lupus erythematosus patients in our cohort were considered to have non-renal non neurologic persistent lupus activity, with mucocutaneous and arthritis the main manifestations. In total, 92.8% of these patients started a biologic treatment at this point (rituximab or belimumab).