Good prognosis for hospitalized SLE patients with non-related disease

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease characterized by widespread organ involvement. Given the scope of modern treatment, there has been a rise in life expectancy and quality with a mean estimated 5-year survival of 82%–90%. Hence, hospitalizations of SLE patients for non-SLE related causes have not been investigated.Our aim was to characterize the SLE patients admitted to the internal medicine wards, the main diagnosis at admission, and the course of hospitalization and to compare the outcome with the general population. We expected to find a significant difference between the SLE population and the general population regarding hospitalization parameters.However we found a good prognosis for hospitalized SLE patients with non-related disease compared to the non-SLE group. SLE was not a significant prognostic factor for outcome in patients hospitalized in the internal medicine ward for non-related causes. Men with SLE had a worse prognosis during hospitalization when compared to females. The SLEDAI score was not an appropriate prognostic method for the outcome of hospitalization.