All-cause hospitalizations in systemic lupus erythematosus from a single medical center in Israel

Objective Clinical features of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have been described from different geographical regions in the world. The aim of this study was to obtain local and contemporary data on all-cause hospitalizations of SLE patients in an Israeli Medical Center. Methods This is a retrospective observational single-center study. Revision of medical records of hospitalized lupus patients during 5-year period (January 2012-December 2016) was performed. Results A total of 61 lupus patients and 138 hospitalizations were identified. Female-to-male ratio was 9:1. Average age was 42.5 years. Average disease duration was 14.58 years. Mean SLICC/ACR damage index was 0.75. The majority of patients were treated with lupus medications (47, 77%). The most common lupus medications were hydroxychloroquine (40, 65.5%), prednisone (25, 40.9%), and azathioprine (9, 14.75%). The most common reasons for hospitalization were disease flare (28, 20.3%), pregnancy and labor (26, 18.9%), and infection (19, 13.8%). The average length of hospitalization for all patients was 6.65 days. No fetal morbidity was recorded, and there was one event of maternal morbidity. There were no cases of acute coronary events. There were six ICU admissions (4.35%). Two admissions (1.45%) were complicated by hospital-acquired infection. Three patients died (2.17%) during hospital stay. Conclusions This survey from a single Israeli medical center revealed low rates of pregnancy complications, coronary events, and nosocomial infections in hospitalized lupus patients. Further studies are required to determine whether these findings reflect local disease expression or it may remark global trend of decrease in lupus complications.