Rheumatology: Current Research
Open Access
ISSN: 2161-1149 (Printed)
ISSN: 2161-1149 (Printed)
Tammy O. Utset
Scientific Tracks Abstracts: Rheumatology & Orthopedics
T here are several excellent standardized measures of disease activity and severity in SLE. However, these measures require detailed patient interviews, medical records, and longitudinal follow-up. Population studies of SLE are often performed based on insurance and hospitalization records. A better understanding of the significance of hospitalization frequency could enhance the utility of this measure in population studies of SLE. One hundred ninety-three SLE patients had data computed on �all cause hospitalization frequency since lupus onset/years of lupus duration�, as well as detailed disease and co-morbidity data in a cross- sectional database. The median hospitalizations were 0.25/year of lupus (interquartile range 0.12, 0.6). On univariate analysis, history of renal disease (p=0.0001), atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) (p=0.004), cardiomyopathy (p=0.004), younger age (p=0.017), shorter SLE duration (p=0.016), and chronic tachycardia (heart rate > 95 beats/minute, p=0.0013), and SLICC/DI score (p=0.007) correlated with more frequent hospitalizations per year of SLE. Hemoglobin approached correlation (p=0.100). SLEDAI at study enrollment, serositis ever, and race did not significantly correlate with this measure. On multivariate regression of hospitalizations per lupus year, SLICC/DI (p<0.001), hemoglobin at study enrollment (p=0.034), younger age (p=0.027), shorter SLE duration (p=0.013), chronic tachycardia (p=0.022) were all independently significant (model R-squared 0.22). In conclusion, the measure of �hospitalizations per lupus year�, while associated with SLICC/DI, is an independent parameter which may yield unique insights into SLE severity and is amenable to use in population-based research.
Dr. Utset is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago who focuses on SLE clinical care and clinical research. She completed medical school at Yale University School of Medicine and attended Johns Hopkins University for her Fellowship in Rheumatology and her Masters Degree in Public Health. She is Director of the Lupus Clinical Program at the University of Chicago, is primary investigator on an NIH supported clinical trial in SLE, and is a Center Director for the Lupus Clinical Trials Consortium