Demographic and clinical features of patients with SLE. Values are n (%) unless otherwise specified.
| Features | SLE, n = 3815 | Infected, n = 1321 | Noninfected, n = 2494 | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male:female, n | 648:3167 | 224:1097 | 424:2070 | 1.0 |
| Age, yrs, mean ± SD | 35.0 ± 13.2 | 35.0 ± 15.8 | 34.9 ± 9.6 | 0.9 |
| SLE duration, mos, median (IQR) | 12 (58) | 12 (58) | 12 (58) | 0.1 |
| ANA+ | 3783 (99.2) | 1311 (99.2) | 2472 (99.1) | 0.9 |
| Anti-dsDNA+ | 2440 (97.8) | 1287 (97.4) | 2440 (97.8) | 0.4 |
| Disease duration, mos | 779 (20.4) | 255 (19.3) | 524 (21.0) | 0.2 |
| Leukopenia | 819 (21.5) | 287 (21.7) | 532 (21.3) | 0.8 |
| Anemia | 2406 (63.1) | 868 (65.7) | 1538 (61.7) | 0.01 |
| Thrombocytopenia | 827 (21.7) | 360 (27.3) | 467 (18.7) | < 0.001 |
| Hypoproteinemia | 2536 (66.5) | 929 (70.3) | 1607 (64.4) | < 0.001 |
| Renal involvement | 2364 (62.0) | 926 (70.1) | 1438 (57.7) | < 0.001 |
| Neuropsychiatric manifestations | 171 (4.5) | 65 (4.9) | 106 (4.3) | 0.3 |
| Gastrointestinal tract involvement | 87 (2.3) | 37 (2.8) | 50 (2.0) | 0.1 |
| Low C3C4, and/or CH50 | 2607 (68.3) | 907 (68.7) | 1700 (68.1) | 0.1 |
| CRP, mg/dl, median (IQR) | 2.1 (9.7) | 6.5 (18.1) | 1.4 (5.4) | < 0.001 |
| SLEDAI, median (IQR) | 8 (10) | 10 (11) | 8 (9) | 0.001 |
| Methotrexate | 768 (20.1) | 245 (18.5) | 523 (21.0) | 0.7 |
| Cyclophosphamide | 1074 (28.2) | 573 (43.4) | 501 (20.1) | < 0.001 |
| Azathioprine | 65 (1.8) | 19 (1.4) | 46 (1.8) | 0.9 |
| Cyclosporine | 125 (3.3) | 40 (3.0) | 85 (3.4) | 0.5 |
| Tacrolimus | 181 (5.1) | 55 (4.2) | 126 (5.1) | 0.2 |
| GC use | 3761 (98.6) | 1305 (98.8) | 2456 (98.5) | 0.4 |
| Average GC dose, mg/day, median (IQR) | 20 (30) | 40 (30) | 15 (10) | < 0.001 |
| 0–10 | 1218 (31.9) | 154 (11.7) | 1064 (42.7) | < 0.001 |
| 11–30 | 1295 (33.9) | 281 (21.3) | 1014 (40.7) | |
| 31–60 | 1152 (30.2) | 736 (55.7) | 416 (16.7) | |
| > 61 mg/day | 150 (3.9) | 150 (11.4) | 34 (1.4) | |
| Average GC dose, mg/kg/d, median (IQR) | 0.4 (0.6) | 0.8 (0.6) | 0.3 (0.2) | < 0.001 |
| Accumulated GC doses, g, median (IQR) | 0.6 (0.9) | 1.2 (0.9) | 0.45 (0.3) | < 0.001 |
Significant values are in bold face. SLE: systemic lupus erythematosus; IQR: interquartile range; ANA: antinuclear antibody; CRP: C-reactive protein; SLEDAI: Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index; GC: glucocorticoid.