The morbidity and mortality associated with childhood onset systemic lupus erythematosus.

From 1977 till 1991, the diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus was made on 137 children aged 18 years or under in Chang Gung Memorial Hospital. The medical records were reviewed and the clinical data were analysed with emphasis on the morbidity and mortality of this disease. The clinical and laboratory characteristics were similar to the findings from most other reports. Renal failure accounted for 8% of the initial presentation. The non-infectious complications were, in the order of frequencies, hypertension, avascular necrosis of femoral head, cataract, encephalopathy, and venous thrombosis. Sepsis, cutaneous infection and urinary tract infection were the frequently encountered infectious complications. The major causes of death in childhood onset systemic lupus erythematosus were sepsis (42%) and renal failure (30.7%). Forty patients were lost to follow-up. The 5-year survival rate, calculated by life-table, was 76.3%.