Can the Dose of Belimumab be Reduced in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus?

Objectives: The aims of this study were to investigate the prevalence of dose reduction in patients with SLE treated with belimumab (BEL) in Spain, analyze treatment modalities, and determine impact on control of disease activity.

Methods: Retrospective longitudinal and multicentre study of SLE patients treated with BEL. Data on disease activity, treatments and outcomes were recorded before and after reduction (6-12 months), and they were compared.

SLESIS-R: an improved score for prediction of serious infection in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus based on the RELESSER prospective cohort.

Objective: To develop an improved score for prediction of severe infection in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), namely, the SLE Severe Infection Score-Revised (SLESIS-R) and to validate it in a large multicentre lupus cohort.

Methods: We used data from the prospective phase of RELESSER (RELESSER-PROS), the SLE register of the Spanish Society of Rheumatology. A multivariable logistic model was constructed taking into account the variables already forming the SLESIS score, plus all other potential predictors identified in a literature review.

Lack of awareness of systemic lupus erythematosus and its consequences in a cohort of moderate and severe patients in Spain: The LupusVoice study.

Background And Objectives: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune condition that can highly impact patients' quality of life (QoL). However, there is a lack of knowledge about SLE, affecting the general population and health care professionals (HCPs) alike. This lack of knowledge has negative implications for patients and the healthcare system, worsening prognosis, negatively impacting QoL, and increasing healthcare utilization.

Thorough assessment of the effectiveness of belimumab in a large Spanish multicenter cohort of systemic lupus erythematosus patients.

Objectives: To provide an overview on the current use of belimumab (BLM) in SLE patients in clinical practice and to examine its efficacy in terms of standardized outcomes, drug survival, as well as patient and safety profiles.

Methods: A longitudinal retrospective multicenter cohort including SLE patients treated with BLM at 18 Spanish centers. Data was collected upon initiation of BLM, at 6 and 12 months after initiation, and at the last recorded visit.

Pregnancy outcomes in 1869 pregnancies in a large cohort from the Spanish Society of Rheumatology Lupus Register (RELESSER).

Introduction: Obstetric complications are more common in women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) than in the general population.

Objective: To assess pregnancy outcomes in women with SLE from the RELESSER cohort after 12 years of follow-up.

Methods: A multicentre retrospective observational study was conducted.

Does remission in systemic lupus erythematosus according to the 2021 DORIS definition match the treating rheumatologist's judgement?

Objectives: To assess agreement between the 2021 Definition Of Remission In SLE (DORIS) and physician-judged lupus activity.

Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted of data from a Spanish prospective multicentre study of SLE patients. We applied the 2021 DORIS criteria and assessed whether remission status based on this definition agreed with remission as per physician clinical judgement and reasons for disagreement between them.

Searching for a prognostic index in lupus nephritis.

Background: Currently we do not have an ideal biomarker in lupus nephritis (LN) that should help us to identify those patients with SLE at risk of developing LN or to determine those patients at risk of renal progression. We aimed to evaluate the development of a prognostic index for LN, through the evaluation of clinical, analytical and histological factors used in a cohort of lupus. We have proposed to determine which factors, 6 months after the diagnosis of LN, could help us to define which patients will have a worse evolution of the disease and may be, more aggressive treatment and closer follow-up.

Antimalarials exert a cardioprotective effect in lupus patients: Insights from the Spanish Society of Rheumatology Lupus Register (RELESSER) analysis of factors associated with heart failure.

Background/objectives: Factors associated with chronic heart failure (CHF) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have received little attention. Recent data on the use of hydroxychloroquine in the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection have cast doubt on its cardiac safety. The factors associated with CHF, including therapy with antimalarials, were analyzed in a large multicenter SLE cohort.

Complement as a Therapeutic Target in Systemic Autoimmune Diseases.

The complement system (CS) includes more than 50 proteins and its main function is to recognize and protect against foreign or damaged molecular components. Other homeostatic functions of CS are the elimination of apoptotic debris, neurological development, and the control of adaptive immune responses. Pathological activation plays prominent roles in the pathogenesis of most autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus, antiphospholipid syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, dermatomyositis, and ANCA-associated vasculitis.

Do all antiphospholipid antibodies confer the same risk for major organ involvement in systemic lupus erythematosus patients?

Objectives: We aimed to investigate the association between the different antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) and both systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) manifestations.

Methods: Patients from the RELESSER registry, a Spanish retrospective, cross-sectional, forty-five hospital registry of adult SLE patients, were included.

Results: Out of a total of 3,658 SLE patients, 1372 were aPL positive (555 of them fulfilled criteria for APS).

Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) implies a more severe disease with more damage accrual and higher mortality.

Introduction: Antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) have been associated with organ damage and certain features in systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE) patients. Our aim was to investigate the differences between SLE patients according to the presence of aPL and/or clinical antiphospholipid syndrome (APS).

Materials And Methods: Patients from the RELESSER-T registry were included.

Prevalence of hospital PCR-confirmed COVID-19 cases in patients with chronic inflammatory and autoimmune rheumatic diseases.

Background: The susceptibility of patients with rheumatic diseases and the risks or benefits of immunosuppressive therapies for COVID-19 are unknown.

Methods: We performed a retrospective study with patients under follow-up in rheumatology departments from seven hospitals in Spain. We matched updated databases of rheumatology patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2-positive PCR tests performed in the hospital to the same reference populations.

Differences in clinical manifestations and increased severity of systemic lupus erythematosus between two groups of Hispanics: European Caucasians versus Latin American mestizos (data from the RELESSER registry).

Background: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is regarded as a prototype autoimmune disease because it can serve as a means for studying differences between ethnic minorities and sex. Traditionally, all Hispanics have been bracketed within the same ethnic group, but there are differences between Hispanics from Spain and those from Latin America, not to mention other Spanish-speaking populations.

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the demographic and clinical characteristics, severity, activity, damage, mortality and co-morbidity of SLE in Hispanics belonging to the two ethnic groups resident in Spain, and to identify any differences.

Pregnancy Control in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Antiphospholipid Syndrome. Part 1: Infertility, Ovarian Preservation and Preconception Assessment. Consensus Document of the Spanish Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (SEGO), the Spanish Society of Internal Medicine (SEMI) and the Spanish Society of Rheumatology (SER).

Objective: Pregnancy and puerperium are considered a risk situation in women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). Therefore, specialized assessment is essential both preconception and during pregnancy and the puerperium. Likewise, it is very important that different specialists in autoimmune diseases and high-risk pregnancies participate in the follow-up of these patients in a coordinated manner.

Pregnancy control in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus/antiphospholipid syndrome. Part 2: Pregnancy follow-up.

Objective: In order to agree on the fundamental aspects related to the management of pregnancy in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), the Spanish Societies of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Internal Medicine and Rheumatology set up a working group for the preparation of three consensus documents.

Methods: Each of the Scientific Societies involved proposed five representatives based on their experience in the field of pregnancy control in patients with autoimmune diseases. The recommendations were developed following the Delphi methodology.

Orthopedic Surgery in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Results from the Spanish National Registry of Hospitalized Patients over 17 Years.

Objective: To analyze the trend of orthopedic surgery (OS) rates on patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: Retrospective observational study based on information provided by the Spanish National System of Hospital Data Surveillance. All hospitalizations of patients with RA for orthopedic surgery [total hip arthroplasty (THA), total knee arthroplasty (TKA), arthrodesis, and upper limb arthroplasty (ULA)] during 1999-2015 were analyzed.

Bacteremia in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus in Patients from a Spanish Registry: Risk Factors, Clinical and Microbiological Characteristics, and Outcomes.

Objective: To describe the incidence of bacteremia in a large multicentric cohort of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and their clinical characteristics and to identify risk factors.

Methods: All bacteremic episodes from the Spanish RELESSER registry were included. Clinical and laboratory characteristics concerning bacteremia and SLE status, as well as comorbidities at the time of infection, were retrospectively collected.

Recommendations of the Spanish Rheumatology Society for Primary Antiphospholipid Syndrome. Part I: Diagnosis, Evaluation and Treatment.

Objective: The difficulty in diagnosis and the spectrum of clinical manifestations that can determine the choice of treatment for primary antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) has fostered the development of recommendations by the Spanish Society of Rheumatology (SER), based on the best possible evidence. These recommendations can serve as a reference for rheumatologists and other specialists involved in the management of APS.

Methods: A panel of four rheumatologists, a gynaecologist and a haematologist with expertise in APS was created, previously selected by the SER through an open call or based on professional merits.

Recommendations of the Spanish Rheumatology Society for Primary Antiphospholipid Syndrome. Part II: Obstetric Antiphospholipid Syndrome and Special Situations.

Objective: The difficulty in diagnosis and the spectrum of clinical manifestations that can determine the choice of treatment for antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) has fostered the development of recommendations by the Spanish Society of Rheumatology (SER), based on the best possible evidence. These recommendations can serve as a reference for rheumatologists and other specialists involved in the management of APS.

Methods: A panel of 4rheumatologists, a gynaecologist and a haematologist with expertise in APS was created, previously selected by the SER through an open call or based on professional merits.

Primary respiratory disease in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: data from the Spanish rheumatology society lupus registry (RELESSER) cohort.

Background: The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence, associated factors, and impact on mortality of primary respiratory disease in a large systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) retrospective cohort.

Methods: All adult patients in the RELESSER-TRANS (Registry of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Patients of the Spanish Society of Rheumatology [SER], cross-sectional phase) registry were retrospectively investigated for the presence of primary pleuropulmonary manifestations.

Results: In total 3215 patients were included.

Relationship between damage and mortality in juvenile-onset systemic lupus erythematosus: Cluster analyses in a large cohort from the Spanish Society of Rheumatology Lupus Registry (RELESSER).

Objectives: To identify patterns (clusters) of damage manifestation within a large cohort of juvenile SLE (jSLE) patients and evaluate their possible association with mortality.

Methods: This is a multicentre, descriptive, cross-sectional study of a cohort of 345 jSLE patients from the Spanish Society of Rheumatology Lupus Registry. Organ damage was ascertained using the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics Damage Index.