Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.3325/cmj.2018.59.3
Disease characteristics and causes of early and late death in a group of Croatian patients with systemic lupus erythematosus deceased over a 10-year period
Ivan Padjen
; Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology, Departmentof Internal Medicine, UniversityHospital Center Zagreb andUniversity of Zagreb, School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
Mislav Cerovec
; Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology, Departmentof Internal Medicine, UniversityHospital Center Zagreb andUniversity of Zagreb, School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
Marijan Erceg
; Croatian Institute of Public Health Zagreb, Croatia
Miroslav Mayer
; Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology, Departmentof Internal Medicine, UniversityHospital Center Zagreb andUniversity of Zagreb, School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
Ranko Stevanović
; Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology, Departmentof Internal Medicine, UniversityHospital Center Zagreb andUniversity of Zagreb, School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
Branimir Anić
; Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology, Departmentof Internal Medicine, UniversityHospital Center Zagreb andUniversity of Zagreb, School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Aim To assess the causes of early death (ED) and late death
(LD) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)
and determine the features of deceased SLE patients followed-
up in a single Croatian tertiary hospital center, because
little if any data on causes of death (CODs) in SLE
patients are available for Croatia.
Method We identified SLE patients regularly followed-up
at the Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology,
University Hospital Center Zagreb, who died from 2002 to
2011. Death was ascertained by matching our institutional
records with the Croatian National Death Database. Patients
were grouped according to their disease duration to
ED and LD and compared by demographic characteristics,
classification criteria, organ damage, and CODs.
Results We identified 90 patients (68 women), who died
at the age of 58 ± 15 years. The most frequent COD category
was cardiovascular diseases (40%), followed by infections
(33%), active SLE (29%), and malignancies (17%). No
significant difference was found between the frequencies
of causes of ED and LD, except for stroke, which caused
only LD≥10 years after the diagnosis. SLE was reported in
death certificates of only 41 of 90 patients.
Conclusion Although stroke occurred both in the early and
late disease course, it was primarily associated with LD. Given
the low proportion of SLE recorded in death certificates
of deceased SLE patients, matching of institutional and vital
statistics records may be required to assess the true impact
of SLE on mortality.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
200237
URI
Publication date:
28.2.2018.
Visits: 1.295 *