Tuberculosis in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

J Assoc Physicians India. 1998 Aug;46(8):682-3.

Abstract

In a retrospective analysis of 146 systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients seen over a 5 year period, 17 patients of tuberculosis (TB) were identified yielding a prevalence rate of 11.6%. The median duration of SLE was 12 months (range 2-96 months) and 12/17 patients had disease activity score of more than five. The median duration of steroid treatment was 12 months (range 0-96 months) and the median cummulative dose of steroid was 7.75 gms (range 0-22.1 gms). Pulmonary TB (miliary-5, nonmiliary infiltrates-7 and pleural effusion-2) was the commonest type and there was an average diagnostic delay of approximately 1 month. While, majority of the patients responded adequately to treatment, 1 patient had a relapse and 1 expired due to a combination of active lupus and disseminated TB. Only 1 patient had received prophylactic isoniazid.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Antitubercular Agents / therapeutic use
  • Female
  • Humans
  • India / epidemiology
  • Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / complications*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Prevalence
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / complications*
  • Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / drug therapy
  • Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / epidemiology

Substances

  • Antitubercular Agents