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Background: Timely diagnosis and proper recognition of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is essential to establish early management in inpatients and outpatients. There are different classification scales to identify SLE, however, some of them require the use of complex immunological markers. In 2021, the SLE Risk Probability Index (SLERPI) was published, which focuses predominantly on the clinical characteristics of patients with suspected SLE and uses a simple algorithm for early recognition of the disease. Objectives: The aim of this study is to compare the European League Against Rheumatism/American College of Rheumatology (ACR/EULAR) classification criteria, the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC) criteria and the SLERPI criteria in a cohort of Colombian patients with SLE and to analyze the correlations observed between their absolute scores. Methods: A registry of SLE patients from two referral hospitals in Bogotá, Colombia was used. SLERPI, ACR/EULAR and SLICC scores were calculated for each patient and the correlations found between the scales were analyzed. The sensitivities of each were compared and associations between different clinical and paraclinical variables were calculated. Results: Between 2016 and 2019, 146 patients diagnosed with SLE were registered, including inpatients and outpatients. The median age was 36 years (interquartile range 26–51), and 82.2% were women. According to the SLERPI criteria, a high prevalence of antinuclear antibodies (92%), immunological disorders (71%) and arthritis (64%) were observed. The most used treatments were corticosteroids (87.6%) and chloroquine (67.8%) (See Table 1). The sensitivity of SLERPI for the diagnosis of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) in our cohort was 89%, while the sensitivity of the 2019 ACR/EULAR criteria and the 2012 SLICC criteria was 84.9% and 85.6%, respectively. Applying the McNemar test to the sensitivities of SLERPI with ACR/EULAR and SLICC, we found that comparisons showed p-values > 0.05, suggesting equivalence between the three scales in the ability to detect patients with the disease. A Spearman evaluation analysis was performed, with a moderately strong correlation (0.76 (p = 0.000)) between the SLERPI and ACR/EULAR scales, and very strong correlation 0.80 (p = 0.000) between the SLERPI and SLICC (see Figure 1). In patients with SLE, according to the SLERPI scale, an association was found with hematological compromise (leukopenia, lymphopenia), serological markers (anti-DNA antibodies), as well as with treatments (Corticosteroids, azathioprine) and hypertension. Conclusion: The SLERPI scale could be useful in the diagnosis of SLE, especially in early stages, given its good correlation with the other classification scales and its good sensitivity. REFERENCES: NIL. Acknowledgements: NIL. Disclosure of Interests: None declared.
Castañeda-González et al. (Sat,) studied this question.