Objectives: We aimed to describe the social, educational, employment and long-term clinical outcomes of adults with childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in a Saudi cohort.
Methods: All adult patients with childhood-onset SLE who were treated and had regular follow-up between 1990 and 2013 at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH-RC), Riyadh were included. The long-term outcome measures comprised SLE Disease Activity and Damage Indices at the last follow-up visit and death related to SLE. Social, educational and employment history were obtained via personal or phone interviews.
Results: Forty-eight patients (45 female) were included, whose mean age was 23.6±4 years and mean disease duration 15±4 years. At the last follow-up visit, 24 (50%) patients were found to have active disease with mean of accrual damage index of 2 (0-7). Forty patients (83%) had renal involvement, 7 (15%) of them progressed to end stage renal disease, 5 patients underwent renal transplant, 2 failed the transplant and are currently on haemodialysis. Sixteen patients had central nervous system involvement in the form of seizure disorder (6 patients), chorea (3 patients) and cerebrovascular accident (3 patients). Forty-three patients completed high school and 21 joined a college. Six patients were in employment. Eight patients got married and 5 of them had children. There were 3 deaths related to SLE (6.25%), mainly due to infection.
Conclusions: Our cohort indicates that the outcome of adult Saudi patients with childhood-onset SLE was satisfactory and comparable to earlier reports.