Insights into systemic lupus erythematosus: a retrospective observational study of clinical features, autoantibodies, and gender-related differences.

This study aims to analyze the clinical and immunologic features of SLE in Jordan, while also investigating the impact of age and gender on disease presentation. The study included 275 patients diagnosed with SLE. Data were collected through meticulous patient interviews and thorough examination of patient hospital records. The cohort exhibited a mean age of 36.8 ± 12.9 years, with an average disease duration of 7.0 ± 7.8 years. The mean age at diagnosis was 29.9 ± 12.1 years, and the female to male ratio was 7.8:1. The most frequently observed symptoms were arthralgia (90.2%), fatigue (80.7%), hematologic manifestations (62%), photosensitivity (60.7%), Raynaud's phenomenon (53.5%), and malar rash (50.9%). The frequencies of various autoantibodies were as follows: ANA (96.7%), anti-dsDNA (39.6%), anti-SSA/Ro (32.8%), anti-Sm (21.8%), anti-U1-RNP (20.6%), and anti-SSB/La (15.5%). Male patients tended to receive a diagnosis at a younger age and exhibited a higher likelihood of experiencing severe manifestations compared to females. Additionally, juvenile onset patients demonstrated an increased likelihood of fever, photosensitivity, myositis, and anti-dsDNA autoantibodies, while adult onset patients were more predisposed to having anti-Ro, anti-La, and RF autoantibodies. This study reveals that the most prevalent manifestations of SLE in the Jordanian cohort encompassed arthralgia, fatigue, and hematologic manifestations. The prevalence of alopecia and Raynaud's phenomenon exceeded that observed in other published cohorts, while arthritis and discoid rash were less frequently encountered. The study highlights that males are more susceptible to developing severe manifestations of SLE compared to females.

Therapeutic changes of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients in pregnancy and feto-maternal outcomes: a retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) frequently show non-compliance with their medication. We evaluated the compliance of patients with SLE in Jordan with their medication and the relationships with fetal and maternal outcomes. METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients with SLE who had no co-morbidities or antiphospholipid syndrome; and were taking only prednisolone, hydroxychloroquine, and/or antiplatelet and anticoagulant medication. RESULTS: We studied 173 pregnancies. Prednisolone was administered around pregnancy in 50 (28.9%) of these. The compliance with hydroxychloroquine, prednisolone, and anticoagulant and antiplatelet medication was 87.5%, 91.4%, and 97.3%, respectively. Non-compliance with anticoagulant/antiplatelet therapy was significantly associated with pregnancy-related complications. No complications developed in participants who were non-compliant with prednisolone therapy. The mean pre-pregnancy Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI) for the pregnancies was 3.7, indicating low disease activity. Pregnancies with high pre-pregnancy SLEDAI scores tended to be more likely to have preterm deliveries, intrauterine growth restriction, and stillbirth. Postpartum relapse tended to be associated with higher pre-pregnancy SLEDAI. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with pre-conceptional low SLE activity, changes in therapeutic compliance during pregnancy are not associated with adverse outcomes. In addition, post-partum relapse is not associated with pre-pregnancy SLEDAI score in therapeutically compliant patients.

Immunogenetic Profiling of SLE and LN among Jordanian Patients.

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is a prolonged inflammatory autoimmune disease, which is characterized by a high titer of serological autoantibodies. Interactions between environmental and genetic factors play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of SLE. Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) genes, namely HLA-class II genes, are one of the main candidate genes that increase susceptibility to SLE. The aim of this study was to investigate, for the first time, the association of HLA-DRB1 and HLA-DQB1 genes among Jordanian patients diagnosed with SLE and Lupus Nephritis (LN) using the Polymerase Chain Reaction-Sequence-Specific Primer (PCR-SSP) technique. This study showed that SLE is positively associated with DRB1*0301, DRB1*1101, DRB1*1102 and HLA-DQB1*0601. Furthermore, HLA-DRB1*0301, DRB1*1101, HLA-DRB1*1501 and HLA-DQB1*0601 were found to be linked to SLE patients with LN. In addition, haplotypes HLA-DRB1*0301/DQB1*0201 and HLA-DRB1*1501/DQB1*0601 were found to be linked to SLE and LN. Our findings may serve as possible predictive markers for early screening for LN risk in SLE patients. In light of these results, the role of HLA gene polymorphisms may help in understanding the clinical course, prognosis of the disease and developing better treatment strategies for SLE patients. In addition, it may help in early diagnosis, prevention, intervention and management of the disease.

Rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis due to systemic lupus erythematosus and ANCA-associated vasculitis overlap.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) are different autoimmune diseases. While vasculitis can be seen in the SLE clinical course as a secondary phenomenon, and may indicate a severe disease, primary vasculitis such as AAV rarely occurs in association with SLE. We present a 44-year-old woman who presented with rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis which was histologically identified as a combination of crescentic and lupus nephritis in the presence of myeloperoxidase ANCA antibody. The frequency of this association is very rare. The clinical, histological and immunological features are different in SLE/AAV overlap syndrome and need different treatment options, which may include rituximab, to achieve complete recovery. Since SLE/AAV overlap can be serious at presentation, the physician must be aware of this syndrome.

In-hospital mortality in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: a study from Jordan 2002-2017.

We aimed to study the mortality among hospitalized patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We performed a retrospective cross-sectional study and identified patients with SLE who were hospitalized at Jordan University Hospital (JUH) between 2002 and 2017.There were 990 admissions among which 283 were SLE patients. The mean age at disease onset was 34 ± 12.5 years and the female to male ratio was 8.4:1. Forty patients died during the 15-year period. In-hospital case fatality was 14% over 15 years. For the deceased patients, the female to male ratio was 3.4:1, mean age at disease onset was 27.8 ± 11.5 years, mean age at death was 35.1 ± 12 years, and mean disease duration was 7.5 ± 6.9 years. Twenty patients had disease duration ≤ 5 years. Infection and SLE-related complication contributed equally to mortality in hospitalized SLE patients (42.5% [CI 27.5%-59%] and 40% [95% CI 25%-56.5%], respectively). Infection related mortality compared to SLE-related mortality was associated with younger age and shorter disease duration (29.5 years versus 38.3 years and 6.4 versus 8.7 years, respectively). CRP was higher in infection related mortality compared to SLE-related mortality (131.4 mg/dl versus 87.6 mg/dl, respectively). Most SLE-related deaths were secondary to pulmonary disease. Renal disease did not contribute directly to mortality. No fatalities were attributed to cardiovascular disease (CVD) or cancer. Infection and active SLE accounted for the majority of deaths at a young age. Significant pulmonary related deaths may indicate a change in trends in SLE mortality, as renal related mortality is expected to decline due to proper management.

The Highest Cited Papers in Brucellosis: Identification Using Two Databases and Review of the Papers' Major Findings.

Citation classics represent the highest impact work in a given field. We aim to identify and analyze the most frequently cited papers on brucellosis. We used the databases Scopus and Web of Science to determine the most frequently cited papers. The most cited fifty papers in each database were identified. We then ranked the papers according to the highest citation count recorded from any of the two databases. The most frequently cited paper received 964 citations and was by DelVecchio VG et al. reporting the complete genomic sequencing of Brucella melitensis. The papers were published in 30 journals led by the "Infection and Immunity" journal and the "Veterinary Microbiology" journal (each had 7 papers). Citation classics in brucellosis were all in English except one in French and were mostly of basic science type. In addition, we noticed that 12 articles that were identified among the highest fifty articles in one database were missed by the other database and vice versa. Therefore, we suggest that searching in more than one database would detect additional citation classics.

Clinical and Serologic Characteristics of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus in the Arab World: A Pooled Analysis of 3,273 Patients.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to describe the clinical and immunological characteristics of systemic lupus erythematosus in the Arab world. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We searched PubMed and Google Scholar for observational studies describing the clinical and serologic features of systemic lupus erythematosus in adult patients in the Arab world. We used the search terms "lupus in Arabs" and the names of individual Arab countries. Twenty-two articles from 11 countries including 3,273 patients (349 males, 2,924 females; mean age 28.9 years) met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed. Studies that reported on either clinical or serologic data in adult patients were included. RESULTS: The mean age at disease onset was 28.9 years. The female to male ratio was 8.34:1. The most common clinical manifestations were arthralgia/arthritis (81.1%), anemia (55.6%), fatigue (53.4%), malar rash (53.1%) and renal manifestations (50.4%). Antinuclear antibodies were present in 97.2%, anti-double stranded deoxyribonucleic acid in 74.1%, anti-Ro/Sjögren syndrome A in 50.5%, anti-ribonucleoprotein in 43.5%, anti-Smith in 40.7% and anti-La/Sjögren syndrome B in 29.2%. The mortality rate was 7.6%. The frequency of various clinical and immunological manifestations varied between different regions. CONCLUSION: Systemic lupus erythematosus displays several different clinical and serologic characteristics, both among different Arab populations and in comparison to other ethnic groups.

Unusual manifestations and unusual mimics of adult onset Still's disease.

[No Abstract Available].

Drug Reaction with Eosinophilia and Systemic Symptoms (DRESS) Syndrome and the Rheumatologist.

PURPOSE OF THE REVIEW: The purpose of the review is to summarise the various drugs used in rheumatology practice implicated in the causation of DRESS syndrome. RECENT FINDINGS: The most commonly reported drugs are allopurinol, sulfasalazine and minocycline, which pose a very high risk for DRESS syndrome development, followed by strontium ranelate and dapsone. Other, less commonly reported, drugs include leflunomide, hydroxychloroquine, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, febuxostat, bosentan and solcitinib. Reaction to some drugs is strongly associated with certain HLA alleles, which may be used to screen patients at risk of serious toxicity. DRESS syndrome is a serious reaction to many drugs used in rheumatic diseases, with a potentially fatal outcome and needs to be considered in any patient started on these medications who presents with a rash, fever and eosinophilia, sometimes with internal organ involvement.

Voriconazole-induced periostitis: a new rheumatic disorder.

Over the past few years, several reports of periostitis affecting patients treated with voriconazole appeared in the literature. As rheumatologists are likely to be called to see such patients, a review of the reported cases was undertaken. A systematic search of Pubmed and Google scholar for case reports, case series and observational studies was undertaken. Twenty-six articles including 23 case reports/case series (total 40 patients), a prospective study and two retrospective studies of 58 cases were included. Age ranged from 3 months to 77 years. Eleven cases (27.5 %) were male and 29 cases (72.5 %) were female. The duration of treatment varied from 6 weeks to 8 years (mean 53.6, SD 77.4 weeks). Most cases presented with diffuse skeletal pain affecting various sites in association with elevated alkaline phosphatase. Periostitis is increasingly reported and should be considered in patients taking voriconazole who present with bone pain and/or alkaline phosphatase elevation.

An update on drug-induced arthritis.

A large and heterogeneous group of drugs can cause drug-induced arthritis. No single pathogenetic mechanism or drug class unifies these diverse culprits. Recognizing that joint symptoms may, in fact, be drug-related not only saves time and unnecessary investigations but can also prevent needless suffering and morbidity due to late recognition of a drug-induced arthritic condition. The extent of drug-induced arthritis is variable and ranges from minor short-lived and reversible arthralgia to a prolonged and occasionally destructive arthritis. The onset of arthritis due to various medications in relation to the timing of drug initiation is also variable and may range from a few days to several months.