Table 1 Demographics and baseline clinical characteristics
CE interviewsa (N = 33) | |
|---|---|
Gender, % (n) | |
Male | 3 (1) |
Female | 97 (32) |
Mean age (SD), years | 47.0 (11.13) |
Age range, years | 24–71 |
Ethnicity, % (n/N) | |
Caucasian | 50 (16/32) |
African American | 31 (10/32) |
Asian | 3 (1/32) |
Latino/Hispanic | 13 (4/32) |
Other | 3 (1/32) |
SLE severity during 6 months prior to baseline, % (n) | |
Mild | 45 (15) |
Moderate | 52 (17) |
Severe | 3 (1) |
Mean SELENA-SLEDAI (SD) (n = 30) | 6.8 (3.36) |
Mean SLICC (SD) (n = 18) | 5.8 (1.54) |
Current SLE treatment, %b (n) | |
Hydroxychloroquine | 67 (22) |
Belimumab | 18 (6) |
NSAIDs | 15 (5) |
Methotrexate | 12 (4) |
Currently receiving steroids, % (n) | 58 (19) |
Average steroid dose of current users (n = 18), mg/day | 8.7 ± 5.35 (range: 4–20) |
Mean (min, max) duration of steroid use (n = 23), months | 41.7 (0.2, 144) |
Reasons for initiating steroid use, % (n/N) | |
To treat an SLE flare | 26 (5/19) |
To control swelling (hands or other body parts) | 16 (3/19) |
To treat joint pain and stiffness | 16 (3/19) |
To treat autoimmune thrombocytopenia/low platelet count | 16 (3/19) |