Frequencies and predictors of the Lupus Low Disease Activity State and remission in treatment-naive patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

Objectives. To evaluate the attainability of Lupus Low Disease Activity State (LLDAS) and definitions of remission in SLE (DORIS) in a treatment-naive cohort of SLE. Methods. LLDAS5 was defined as LLDAS with a prednisone dose <= 5 mg/day. There were four definitions in DORIS: clinical remission on treatment (RONT), complete RONT, clinical remission off treatment (ROFT) and complete ROFT. The treatment-naive patients from Peking University First Hospital SLE cohort were enrolled. The time to each state and their annual cumulative probabilities were estimated. The frequencies of patients who achieved each component of LLDAS or DORIS during follow-up were determined. The predictors of time to each state were identified. Results. A total of 218 patients were included, with a median follow-up of 4.48 years. Respectively, 190 (87.2%), 160 (73.4%), 148 (67.9%), 94 (43.1%), 23 (10.6%) and 18 (8.3%) patients achieved LLDAS, LLDAS5, clinical RONT, complete RONT, clinical ROFT and complete ROFT. The median time to LLDAS, LLDAS5, clinical RONT and complete RONT were 1.4, 2.3, 2.6 and 4.7 years, respectively. Positive anti-dsDNA, RP and anaemia were significantly associated with prolonged time to LLDAS, LLDAS5 or clinical RONT. Conclusion. Our data confirmed that LLDAS is an attainable early treatment target for SLE. Though with more difficulty, RONT can be achieved in two-thirds of our patients. ROFT may not be an ideal treatment target at present as it is only attained in few patients.