Cutaneous vasculitis manifestations in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: a comprehensive retrospective analysis with clinical implications.

INTRODUCTION

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease with clinical and laboratory heterogeneity. Data on cutaneous vasculitis (CV) in SLE are limited, especially in the context of its clinical value.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to compare the clinical characteristics, laboratory findings, and treatment patterns of SLE patients with and without CV to determine if CV identifies a distinct subset with unique outcomes.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We conducted a retrospective analysis based on medical records of 1021 SLE patients (n = 64 with CV, n = 957 without CV) treated at the University Hospital in Kraków, Poland, between 2012 and 2022. All patients met the 2019 EULAR/ACR classification criteria for SLE.

RESULTS

Overall, CV was observed in 6.27% of analyzed cohort of patients (n = 64). Patients with CV had more prevalent exhibited constitutional symptoms (87.5% vs. 76.2%, P = 0.04), joint manifestations (96.9% vs. 87.3%, P = 0.02), central nervous system involvement (15.6% vs. 6.6%, P = 0.007), and heart failure (14.1% vs. 4.4%, P <0.001). Higher prevalence of anti-SSA (75.0% vs. 59.2%, P = 0.02) and anti-RNP antibodies (35.0% vs. 20.3%, P = 0.007) were observed. Treatment involved more often use of azathioprine (51.6% vs. 37.5%, P = 0.025), belimumab (9.4% vs. 3.7%, P = 0.03), and cyclophosphamide (40.6% vs. 27.5%, P = 0.02).

CONCLUSIONS

SLE patients with CV present with more severe disease, including heart failure and central nervous system involvement, but also a specific autoantibody profile. These patients may require more aggressive immunosuppressive treatment. The findings suggest that CV in SLE may serve as a marker for more severe disease, necessitating careful monitoring and more aggressive treatment.