Mucocutaneous involvement in systemic lupus erythematosus and its association with autoantibodies

BACKGROUND - Mucocutaneous manifestations are very common in systemic lupus erythematosus and vary widely. OBJECTIVES - To study the prevalence of mucocutaneous lesions in systemic lupus erythematosus and to verify their possible association with autoantibodies. METHODS - One hundred and thirteen patients with systemic lupus erythematosus underwent clinical history directed to skin disorders and ectoscopic examination. Their charts were reviewed for demographic data and autoantibody profile (anti-Ro/SS-A, anti-La/SS-B, anti-DNA and anti-Sm). RESULTS - The most prevalent findings were photosensitivity (83.1%), alopecia (65.4%), butterfly rash (54.3%) and Raynaud's phenomenon (53.9%). In 46.9% of patients there was mucocutaneous complaint upon diagnosis. We found an association between subacute cutaneous lupus and anti-Ro/SS-A (p = 0.03), Raynaud's phenomenon and anti-Sin (p = 0. 05), butterfly rash and anti-DNA (p = 0. 03). CONCLUSION - Mucocutaneous lesions are present in most systemic lupus patients and in almost half of them they are present at diagnosis. The most common findings were photosensitivity, alopecia, butterfly rash and Raynaud's phenomenon.