Haematological Indices in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Their Association With Disease Activity

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a clinically common autoimmune disease characterized by abnormal immune response to autologous tissue, eventually resulting in systemic disorders and diverse clinical manifestations of the patients.

The pathogenesis of SLE remains unclear, but environmental triggers and genetic factors contribute to the destruction of immune tolerance systems, the production of immunological lymphocytes, antibodies, and inflammatory cytokines.

The clinical manifestations of SLE range from constitutional symptoms, such as fever, sweats, weight loss, joint pain and skin rashes (including the classic butter fly rash), to more serious features, including the involvement of the central nervous system and kidneys.

However, to make a clinical diagnosis of SLE, The SLICC criteria require either that a patient satisfy at least 4 of 17 criteria, including at least 1 of the 11 clinical criteria and one of the six immunologic criteria, or that the patient has biopsy-proven nephritis compatible with SLE in the presence of antinuclear antibodies (ANA) or anti-double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) antibodies. Patients with higher disease activity often present severer damage of tissues and organs.

SLE is characterized by high heterogeneity, a complex pathophysiology and various clinical manifestations; thus, no test alone is sufficiently sensitive or specific for diagnosis. Active and inactive SLE patients were evaluated according to SLE disease activity index (SLEDAI).There is significant interest in the identification of biomarkers that can predict SLE and quantify disease activity.