Background: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease with varied clinical manifestations, which creates difficulties and delays in establishing a diagnosis.
Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and nature of the clinical symptoms of SLE, both at the onset of the disease and in its further course. An attempt to assess the immunological characteristics of the patients and to analyze autoantibodies variability over time was also made.
Material and methods: This retrospective study included 71 Caucasian patients, 63 women and 8 men, meeting the criteria for diagnosis of SLE according to ACR.
Results: The ratio of women to men was approximately 7.9:1. The average age of the onset of SLE was 31.5 years. The average time from the onset of symptoms to diagnosis was 5 years. The most common first manifestation of SLE were joint and muscles symptoms - 71.8%, skin lesions - 69.0%, fever - 57.7%. The main symptoms in the further course of the disease were neurological disorders - 69.0%, joint and muscle changes - 67.7%, and general symptoms - 59.2%. There was an increase in the incidence of renal involvement and neurological symptoms throughout the disease course. The most commonly detected antibodies were anti-dsDNA - 47.9%, anti-Ro/SSA - 40.8%, anti-nucleosomal antibodies - 29.6%, and lupus anticoagulant - 22.5%. A panel of antibodies typically did not change.
Conclusions: There is no typical clinical picture of SLE, the population suffering from this disease is very various. Therefore, early and accurate diagnosis can be a big challenge for any clinician, which justifies the need for this type of study to better characterize the disease.
Keywords: SLE; course of SLE; onset of SLE; systemic lupus erythematosus.