Tuberculosis in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Single Center Retrospective Study.
- Author:
Choong Hyun KIM
1
;
Wan Uk KIM
;
Chul Woo YANG
;
Young Ok JUNG
;
Ju Ho DO
;
Hyeok Jae KO
;
Hae Rim KIM
;
Chong Hyeon YOUN
;
Sang Heon LEE
;
Sung Hwan PARK
;
Byung Kee BANG
;
Ho Youn KIM
Author Information
1. Division of Rheumatology, Kang-Nam St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul. rheuma@catholic.ac.kr
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Lupus erythematosus;
Systemic;
Tuberculosis;
Kidney transplantation
- MeSH:
Azathioprine;
Bone Marrow;
Central Nervous System;
Colon;
Complement System Proteins;
Cyclosporine;
Diagnosis;
DNA;
Humans;
Incidence;
Kidney;
Kidney Transplantation;
Knee Joint;
Liver;
Lung;
Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic*;
Lymph Nodes;
Pleura;
Prednisolone;
Retrospective Studies*;
Skin;
Transplantation;
Tuberculosis*
- From:The Journal of the Korean Rheumatism Association
2003;10(3):270-277
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
OBJECTIVE: To compare the incidence and clinical characteristics of tuberculosis (tbc) between patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and kidney transplantation (KT) recipients. METHODS: Six hundreds and twenty-two patients who were diagnosed as SLE from 1990 to 2001 in Kang-Nam St. Mary's hospital were reviewed, retrospectively. As a control group, 347 kidney transplant recipients in the same center were evaluated. The extent of tbc was categorized into two groups: (1) limited disease (2) extensive disease. Cumulative steroid dosage and disease activity index including SLEDAI, serum complement levels, and anti-dsDNA titers were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The cumulative incidence rate of tbc was similar in both groups (37 cases and 5.7% in SLE versus 17 cases and 4.9% in KT). Mean interval from SLE diagnosis or KT to tbc development was not different between the two groups. The most common site of tbc was lung/pleura, and the others included lymph nodes (2 cases), knee joint (1), bone marrow (1), central nervous system (1), kidney (1), colon (1), liver (1), and skin (1) in SLE. In contrast, most of tbc (16/17) developed exclusively in the lung and pleura in KT recipients. Cumulative doses of prednisolone 1 or 6 months before tbc diagnosis were not different between the two groups. Interestingly, extensive disease tended to be more frequent in SLE patients than in KT recipients although immuno-suppressants such as cyclosporine and azathioprine were more frequently administered in KT recipients. There were no differences in disease activity index including SLEDAI, complement levels, and anti-ds DNA titers at the time of tbc diagnosis as well as in the cumulative doses of steroid between extensive and limited diseases of tbc in SLE. CONCLUSION: The cumulative incidence rate of tbc was higher in SLE patients than in general population. The patterns of tbc tended to be more extensive in SLE compared to KT recipients in whom a stronger immuno-suppression was required, suggesting that immune dysfunction implicated by SLE itself may play an important role in determining the incidence and patterns of tbc infection.
