Systemic lupus erythematosus.

BACKGROUND

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) occurs predominantly in young women, but also in children. The prevalence of SLE varies widely worldwide, ranging from about 1 in 3500 women (regardless of race) in the UK, to 1 in 1000 women in China, to 1 in 250 African-American women in the USA.

METHODS

We conducted a systematic review and aimed to answer the following clinical questions: What are the effects of treatments on joint symptoms (arthralgia/arthritis) and other non-organ-threatening symptoms (such as serositis and fatigue) in people with systemic lupus erythematosus? What are the effects of interventions for cutaneous involvement in people with systemic lupus erythematosus? What are the effects of treatments in people with proliferative lupus nephritis (WHO grades 3-5)? What are the effects of treatments for neuropsychiatric involvement in people with systemic lupus nephritis? We searched: Medline, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and other important databases up to December 2007 (Clinical Evidence reviews are updated periodically; please check our website for the most up-to-date version of this review). We included harms alerts from relevant organisations such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

RESULTS

We found 11 systematic reviews or RCTs that met our inclusion criteria. We performed a GRADE evaluation of the quality of evidence for interventions.

CONCLUSIONS

In this systematic review, we present information relating to the effectiveness and safety of the following interventions: acitretin; antipsychotic drugs; chloroquine; combination corticosteroids plus immunosuppressants; corticosteroids; hydroxychloroquine; intravenous immunoglobulin; methotrexate; non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs); plasmapheresis; and sunblock.