Rheumatology Advance Access originally published online on February 4, 2008
Rheumatology 2008 47(3):362-367; doi:10.1093/rheumatology/kem371
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Associated factors and impact of myocarditis in patients with SLE from LUMINA, a multiethnic US cohort
1Department of Epidemiology, 2Department of Medicine, Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology, 3Department of Surgery, Section of Trauma, Burns and Critical Care, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 4Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, The University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus, San Juan, PR and 5Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, TX, USA.
Correspondence to: G. S. Alarcón, 830 Faculty Office Tower, 510 20th Street South, Birmingham, AL 35294-3408, USA. E-mail: graciela.alarcon{at}ccc.uab.edu
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Abstract |
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Objective. To examine the factors associated with myocarditis and its impact on disease outcomes in SLE patients.
Methods. SLE patients aged 
16 yrs, disease duration 
5 yrs from LUMINA (LUpus in Minorities: NAture vs nurture), a multiethnic US cohort, were studied. Myocarditis was defined as per the category 3 of the pericarditis/myocarditis item of the SLAM-Revised (SLAM-R). Patients with concurrent pericardial involvement were excluded. Patients with myocarditis were compared with those without myocarditis or its sequelae in the preceding year. The association between myocarditis and baseline variables (T0) was first examined. The impact of myocarditis on disease activity over time (SLAM-R), damage accrual [SLICC Damage Index (SDI)] at last visit (TL) and mortality was evaluated.
Results. Fifty-three of the 496 patients studied had myocarditis. African American ethnicity [Odds ratio (OR) = 12.6; 95% CI 1.6, 97.8] and SLAM-R at diagnosis (OR = 1.1, 95% CI 1.0, 1.1) were significantly and independently associated with myocarditis. Myocarditis did not predict disease activity over time, but approached significance as a predictor of SDI at TL in multivariable analyses P = 0.051. Kaplan–Meier curves indicated that myocarditis was associated with shorter survival (log-rank = 4.87, P = 0.02), particularly in patients with 5 yrs disease; however, myocarditis was not retained in the Cox proportional hazards regression model.
Conclusions. Ethnicity and disease activity at diagnosis were associated with the occurrence of myocarditis in SLE. Myocarditis did not significantly impact on disease activity over time, but impacts some on damage accrual and survival, reflecting overall the more severe disease those patients experience.
KEY WORDS: Myocarditis, Lupus, Damage, Survival
Submitted 13 June 2007;
revised version accepted 13 December 2007.
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