Smoking and Its Association With Morbidity in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Evaluated by the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/American College of Rheumatology Damage Index: Preliminary Data and Systematic Review.

OBJECTIVE: Due to the increased availability of effective treatments, patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) now have longer survival times, and factors involved in cumulative chronic damage in SLE need to be better understood. This study was undertaken to evaluate the relationship between smoking and cumulative chronic damage in SLE patients. METHODS: A cross-sectional study of SLE patients was performed to investigate the possible association between smoking exposure (ever [previous or current, active or secondhand smokers] or never) and cumulative chronic damage as measured by the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/American College of Rheumatology Damage Index (SDI). A systematic review of the literature was conducted by cross-searching Medline for the terms lupus and smoking. RESULTS: We enrolled 105 patients with SLE (96% female), with a mean ± SD age of 40.7 ± 11.4 years and a mean followup time of 8.98 years. Of the 105 patients, 74 had an SDI score of 1-10, and 31 had an SDI score of 0. The difference between smoking exposure and no smoking exposure was significant (P = 0.02 by chi-square test in contingency table analysis), and SLE patients who were never exposed to smoking had 0.78 times the risk of progressing toward a cumulative damage status (SDI score of > 0) (95% confidence interval 0.16-0.98) throughout the followup period compared to those who were ever exposed. In the systematic review of the literature, we found only a small number of articles that addressed some aspects of the relationship between smoking exposure and cumulative damage in SLE patients. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that smoking exposure is associated with cumulative chronic damage, as determined by the SDI score, in patients with SLE. Smoking exposure may have deleterious effects on lupus morbidity, and more detailed studies of this association are needed.

Pressor response to fluid resuscitation in endotoxic shock: involvement of vasopressin.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of fluid resuscitation administration on vasopressin secretion and its association with pressor response in endotoxic shock during a period of inappropriately low vasopressin secretion. DESIGN: Prospective, controlled experiment. SETTING: Animal basic science laboratory. SUBJECTS: Male Wistar rats, weighing 250 to 300 grams. INTERVENTIONS: Rats received lipopolysaccharide (2 mg/kg, intravenous) and had their mean arterial pressure monitored during the next 4 hrs. Subsequently, the animals were assigned randomly to one of seven groups (n = 6 per group) that differed in the composition or volume of the resuscitation fluid administered: control group (no fluid administered); isotonic saline solution (0.9% NaCl; 4 mL/kg); hypertonic saline solution (7.5% NaCl; 4 mL/kg); 0.9% NaCl in 6% hydroxyethyl starch 450/0.7 (4, 8, or 16 mL/kg); or 7.5% NaCl in 6% hydroxyethyl starch 450/0.7 (4 mL/kg). MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Blood pressure was lower in the lipopolysaccharide-treated group. Administration of 0.9% NaCl in 6% hydroxyethyl starch 450/0.7 did not change mean arterial pressure, but reduced vasopressin plasma levels at a dose of 16 mL/kg. Hypertonic saline solution or 7.5% NaCl in 6% hydroxyethyl starch 450/0.7 administration was followed by an immediate recovery of blood pressure and also by an increase in plasma vasopressin levels when compared to isotonic saline solution. The vasopressin V1 receptor antagonist (10 microg/kg, intravenous, 5 min before infusion) completely blunted the increase in mean arterial pressure induced by hypertonic saline solution or 7.5% NaCl in 6% hydroxyethyl starch 450/0.7 in endotoxemic rats. CONCLUSIONS: Isotonic blood volume expansion reduced vasopressin plasma levels. Furthermore, the subsequent release of vasopressin is essential for the pressor response caused by hypertonic fluid infusion during endotoxic shock.