021 A retrospective analysis of the clinical, biochemical, immunological, histopathological and radiological spectrum of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus at a tertiary care centre in North India

Abstract

The objective of our study was to retrospectively analyse the clinical, biochemical, immunological, histopathological and radiological spectrum of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) in North India. We retrospectively analysed the medical records of all patients who presented with SLE to a tertiary care centre in North India from January 2011 to August 2021. We included only records of patients with detailed information on history, examination, biochemical, immunological, histopathological and radiological investigations. We analysed the medical records of 90 patients. The average age of the patients was 32±13 years. Seventy-four (82%) patients were female, and the rest were male. Most of the patients presented with fever, joint pain and photosensitivity. Nearly all patients had lesions suggestive of cutaneous lupus erythematosus. Thirty-two (65%) patients had a positive Direct Coomb’s test, and twenty-five (28%) patients presented with leucopenia. Sixteen patients had thrombocytopenia. Forty-four (94%) patients had an elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate. Thirteen patients had proteinuria. However, none of our patients had lupus nephritis. Two patients had pericardial effusion, and three had pleural effusion. One patient had antibodies to lupus anticoagulant. Twelve patients had low C₃ levels, and seven patients had low C₄ levels. This retrospective analysis presents an insight into the manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus in North India and sheds light on the disease status and treatment response.