TY - JOUR T1 - Quality Guidelines for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Slow But Steady Progress JF - The Journal of Rheumatology JO - J Rheumatol SP - 542 LP - 543 DO - 10.3899/jrheum.130128 VL - 40 IS - 5 AU - DANIEL J. WALLACE Y1 - 2013/05/01 UR - http://www.jrheum.org/content/40/5/542.abstract N2 - Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) places a significant burden on the US economy. It is estimated to be responsible for $10 billion to $20 billion in direct and indirect costs each year, costing the average patient with SLE an annual $10,000–$20,000 in accrued healthcare-related expenses1. These figures do not take into account the effects of loss of productivity and of disability, and that at least 10,000 people succumb directly to SLE annually (the psychological and societal effects of the disease).In part because of the pleomorphic presentation of SLE and its many symptoms, signs, and laboratory abnormalities, it is difficult to make recommendations as to how often patients should be evaluated and monitored. In 1999, an American College of Rheumatology Ad Hoc Committee formulated guidelines for the management of SLE in adults2. Although these eminence-based suggestions were prescient and well grounded, they are unfortunately now totally obsolete, in that they did not include targeted therapies, updated disease criteria, and newer insights garnered from biomarkers, imaging, clinical trials, and observational cohort studies.In 2010, the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) made suggestions for monitoring patients with SLE in clinical practice and observational studies3. A total of 10 recommendations were presented based on Delphi … ER -