Clinical spectrum and diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus in the Republic of Ireland

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multifactorial autoimmune disease w ith a highly variable presentation. The aim of this work was to investigate its clinical pattern and determine the length of time taken for its diagno sis in the Republic of Ireland over the past 30 years. Patients were identi fied using four independent ascertainment methods. Data analysis was based on the chi-squared test and calculation of means, medians and quartiles of diagnosis times. The most common manifestations at diagnosis and throughout disease progression were fatigue, musculoskeletal, cutaneous and photosens itivity. Diagnosis within 3 months increased from 9.1% of patients whose sy mptoms first appeared in the 1970s to 42.3% for the 1990s, while the mean d iagnosis decreased from 102.8 to 11.5 months, and the median from 71 to 5 m onths, over the same period. Thus SLE diagnosis rimes have declined signifi cantly over the past 30 years in the Republic of Ireland, while disease pre sentation reflects international experience. Med Sci Res 27:769-771 (C) 199 9 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.