Pediatric systemic lupus erythematosus in a single nephrology unit.

Clinical manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are widely variable, and its course is unpredictable. SLE that begins in childhood has been considered more severe than SLE with onset during adulthood. Our aim was to determine the presentation and the outcome of SLE of 26 children (20 females and 6 males, with a female to male ratio of 3.8:1) with SLE in our center, their ages ranging from 5 - 18 years and followed from 2005 till October 2011. They were diagnosed according to the American Rheumatism Association's revised criteria. Complete blood count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C3, urine analysis, 24-h urinary protein, antinuclear antibodies, anti-ds DNA and renal biopsy were obtained for the patients. We found that the most extra-renal manifestation of SLE was fever (57.7%), while lupus nephritis (LN) was the most commonly affected organ (50%). Hemolytic anemia was the most common hematological abnormality (80.8%), while immunological characteristics were positive in all the patients. Remission in patients without LN was more than 5.3-times the remission in LN patients. The outcome of the patients without LN was better than the patients with LN.