Table 3 Signs of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in 12 patients under anti-tumour necrosis factor alpha treatment
Sign of SLE | Number of patients |
|---|---|
Skin (≥ 1 SLE skin criteria) | 11 |
General (fever, weight loss, asthenia) | 9 |
Musculoskeletal (arthritis, myositis, myalgias) | 10 (6 arthritis, 3 myositis, 1 myalgia) |
Serositis, lung, neuritis, phlebitis; haematological abnormalities, elevated muscle enzymes | 3, 1, 1 and 1, respectively; 12 and 3, respectively |
Antibody testing | |
Positive for ANA (>1/160) | 12 |
Positive for anti-dsDNA antibodies (>40 UI) | 11 |
Positive anti-ENA, anti-histone, anti-cardiolipid | 5, 2 and 6, respectively |
Recovery | |
After treatment withdrawn (with/without steroids) | 12 (4 and 8) |
Delay in recovery (median and range) | 8 weeks (3–16 weeks) |