ABSTRACT
Anemia is a common hematological abnormality in Systemic lupus erythematosus and can easily be categorized with simple laboratory tests; the aim of this study was to investigate types and causes of anemia in SLE patients and to evaluate the role of EPO in different types of SLE anemia. Patients and methods; forty three male and female patients with SLE were investigated for types and possible causes of anemia among the follow up patients of the rheumatology outpatient clinic of Sohag university hospital in one year, blood and urine samples were obtained for laboratory investigations, patients with hemoglobin level less than 14 gm/dl for male and 12.3 gm/dl for female were consider anemic and enrolled in the study. Thirty nine patients [90.7%- 1 male and 38 females] were anemic, with mean age of 31 +/- 10 years, the types and incidence of anemia were; iron deficiency anemia [IDA] n = 22 [56.4%], anemia of chronic disease [ACD] n = 12 [30.8%] and autoimmune hemolytic anemia [AIHA] n=5 [12.8%], mean levels of hemoglobin were 10.4 +/- 1.3, 9.6 +/- 1.1 and 7.7 +/- 0.8, in the three groups respectively, low levels of complement C3 and C4 were observed in AIHA, and ACD, but not in patients with IdA. Anti-dsDNA antibodies were seen in all patients with AIHA, and in 10 patients with IDA, CRP concentrations were not related to severity of anemia in the three groups, higher levels of serum creatinine and proteinuria were detected in the three was no difference in the mean levels of EPO among different groups. Anemia in SLE can be easily diagnosed by simple methods, IDA is very common among SLE patients in our community, Erythropoietin [EPO] may have no role in SLE anemia and the presence of Anti Erythropoietin antibodies [AEA] and its role can not be ruled out