Evaluation of the Incidence of Discoid Lupus Erythematosus in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Its Relationship to Disease Activity

Background: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease with wide clinical features ranging from cutaneous manifestations to systemic disease. Skin is one of the most commonly affected organs in SLE. Objective: To determine whether there is any correlation between discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE) and the severity of SLE. Methods: In a prospective cross-sectional study, 60 consecutive patients with newly diagnosed SLE were enrolled. Skin biopsy was performed to establish the diagnosis of DLE. Disease activity was determined by the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index 2000 (SLEDAI-2K). A SLEDAI-2K score >= 10 was considered active and severe disease. Results: Eleven SLE patients (9 females and 2 males) had DLE (18.3%) and 49 patients (46 females and 3 males) had SLE without DLE (81.7%). The mean age of patients with DLE was 30.18 +/- 11.07 years and in patients without it was 28.4 +/- 10.26 years (p = .6). Three of 11 patients with DLE (27.3%) and 14 of 49 patients without DLE (28.6%) had a SLEDAI-2K score >= 10 (p = 1). Conclusion: The presence of DLE in our patients with SLE was not associated with less severe disease.