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Management of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

3. CLINICAL MANIFESTATIONS

The diagnosis of SLE is based on a combination of clinical and
laboratory findings indicative of immune reactivity or inflammation in
various organs. There are many mimickers for SLE that should be
excluded before arriving at the diagnosis of the disease.
In a retrospective cohort study on SLE, the most frequent initial presenting
symptoms were musculoskeletal, followed by mucocutaneous and
neurological. The median time from first musculoskeletal symptom to
SLE diagnosis was 26.4 months (IQR 9.3, 43.6). Sub-group analysis
showed that the younger patients <30 years with severe disease had
the shortest time to the diagnosis. 16, level II-2

Common presentations include mucocutaneous, musculoskeletal,
haematological and renal manifestations. The clinical manifestations of
SLE are illustrated in Figure 1.

AIHA = autoimmune haemolytic anaemia; APS = antiphospholipid
syndrome; ILD = interstitial lung disease; PAH = pulmonary arterial
hypertension

Figure 1: Clinical manifestations of SLE

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