Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Connective tissue diseases

The burden of serious infections in SLE

Nature Reviews Rheumatology volume 11, pages 326–327 (2015)Cite this article

Subjects

Is the risk of hospitalization and death due to serious infections on the rise in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)? A population-based study provides insights into these trends and highlights the need for safe, effective treatment strategies in SLE.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Yurkovich, M., Vostretsova, K., Chen, W. & Avina-Zubieta, J. A. Overall and cause-specific mortality in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: a meta-analysis of observational studies. Arthritis Care Res. (Hoboken) 66, 608–616 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Tektonidou, M. G., Wang, Z., Dasgupta, A. & Ward, M. M. Burden of serious infections in adults with systemic lupus erythematosus. A national population-based study, 1996–2011. Arthritis Care Res. (Hoboken) http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/acr.22575.

  3. Curns, A. T., Holman, R. C., Sejvar, J. J., Owings, M. F. & Schonberger, L. B. Infectious disease hospitalizations among older adults in the United States from 1990 through 2002. Arch. Intern. Med. 165, 2514–2520 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Sciascia, S. et al. Systemic lupus erythematosus and infections: clinical importance of conventional and upcoming biomarkers. Autoimmun. Rev. 12, 157–163 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Pincus, T., Gibson, K. A. & Block, J. A. Mortality—the neglected outcome in rheumatic diseases? Arthritis Care Res. (Hoboken) http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/acr.22554.

  6. Bouza, E., Moya, J. G. & Muñoz P. Infections in systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis. Infect. Dis. Clin. North Am. 15, 335–361 (2001).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Kamen, D. L. How can we reduce the risk of serious infection for patients with systemic lupus erythematosus? Arthritis Res. Ther. 11, 129 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Bertsias, G. et al. EULAR recommendations for the management of systemic lupus erythematosus. Report of a Task Force of the EULAR Standing Committee for International Clinical Studies Including Therapeutics. Ann. Rheum. Dis. 67, 195–205 (2008).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. van Assen, S. et al. EULAR recommendations for vaccination in adult patients with autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases. Ann. Rheum. Dis. 70, 414–422 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Lawson, E. F., Trupin, L., Yelin, E. H. & Yazdany, J. Reasons for failure to receive pneumococcal and influenza vaccinations among immunosuppressed patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Semin. Arthritis Rheum. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.semarthrit.2015.01.002.

Download references

Acknowledgements

S.B. holds a career award from the Fonds de la recherche en santé du Québec (FRSQ). J.W. is supported by fellowship awards from The Arthritis Society and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (Banting).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Clinical Epidemiology, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, 687 Pine Avenue West, V-Building, Montreal, H3A 1A1, QC, Canada

    Jessica Widdifield & Sasha Bernatsky

Authors
  1. Jessica Widdifield
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Sasha Bernatsky
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sasha Bernatsky.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Widdifield, J., Bernatsky, S. The burden of serious infections in SLE. Nat Rev Rheumatol 11, 326–327 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrrheum.2015.55

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrrheum.2015.55

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing