An overview of definitions of remission in SLE used in the literature
| Author(s) | Year | Remission definition | Serological activity permitted | Duration of remission required | Treatments permitted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dubois9 | 1956 | Based on the rheumatologist's impression | Not specified | No | Not specified |
| Dubois and Tuffanelli10 | 1964 | Based on the rheumatologist's impression | Not specified | No | Not specified |
| Gladman et al11 | 1979 | Asymptomatic patient | Yes | No | None |
| Tozman et al12 | 1982 | Absence of clinical manifestations of disease | No | No | None |
| Heller and Schur13 | 1985 | Asymptomatic without active organ involvement | No | No | Antimalarials and low-dose glucocorticoids |
| LeBlanc et al14 | 1994 | Clinical SLEDAI=O | Yes | ≥3 consecutive clinic visits | Any |
| Drenkard et al15 | 1996 | Lack of disease activity permitting SLE treatment withdrawal | Yes | ≥1 year | None |
| Barr et al16 | 1999 | Clinical SLEDAI=0 or PGA <1.0 | Yes | ≥1 year | Not specified |
| Formiga et al17 | 1999 | Lack of disease activity permitted SLE treatment withdrawal | Yes | ≥1 year | None |
| Swaak et al18 | 1999 | Absence of disease-related signs with no need for treatment | Not specified | No | None |
| Urowitz et al19 | 2005 | Clinical SLEDAI=O | Yes | ≥5 years | None |
| Nossent et al20 | 2010 | Physician assessed | Not specified | No | Not specified |
| Steiman et al21 | 2010 | Clinical SLEDAI-2K=O | Yes | ≥2 years | Antimalarials only |
| Conti et al22 | 2012 | Clinical SLEDAI-2K=O | Yes | ≥2 years | Antimalarials only |
Adapted from Steiman et al.8
PGA, patient global assessment; SLE, systemic lupus erythematosus; SLEDAI, systemic lupus disease activity index.