The Clinical Characteristics of Leukopenia in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus of Han Ethnicity in China: A Cross-Sectional Study
Open Access
- 20 June 2021
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Rheumatology and Therapy
- Vol. 8 (3), 1177-1188
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s40744-021-00336-6
Abstract
Introduction The characteristics of leukopenia in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in different studies are different, which may be related to region, race, and sample size. Moreover, the extent of leukocyte count decline remains to be studied. This study aimed to analyze the clinical characteristics of leukopenia in patients with SLE of Han ethnicity in China. Methods A single-center, retrospective, cross-sectional study was conducted in Chinese Han patients with SLE from June 2013 to August 2020. Results A total of 125 patients with SLE were included in the study, and 104 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were recruited. The prevalence of leukopenia, neutropenia, and lymphopenia was 40.0, 20.8, and 55.2%, respectively. The median leukocyte count in the leukopenia group was 2.80 × 109/l, the median neutrophil count in the neutropenia group was 1.40 × 109/l, and the median lymphocyte count in the lymphopenia group was 0.60 × 109/l, which was 47.06, 40.58, and 30.00% of the median of the healthy control group, respectively. The lymphocyte count of SLE patients without lymphopenia was also lower than that of healthy controls, and the lymphocyte count was negatively correlated with the SLE disease activity index 2000 score in all patients with SLE. Independent risk factors for neutropenia include decreased platelet count and lymphocyte count, as well as the presentation of cylindruria. For lymphopenia, the independent risk factors were positivity for anti-dsDNA antibody and Coombs’ test, decreased platelet count, and cylindruria. Conclusions In Han Chinese patients with SLE, leukopenia, neutropenia, and lymphopenia are common clinical manifestations, and the degree of reduction in blood cell count was also remarkable. Lymphopenia is associated with disease severity in patients with SLE. The correlation between Coombs’ test results and lymphopenia deserves further study.Keywords
Funding Information
- the National Nature Science Foundation of China (81800622)
- The Natural Science Foundation of the Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions of China (18KJB320020)
- Suzhou Health and Key Talent Project (GSWS2019011)
- Jiangsu Social Development Project (BE2019663)
This publication has 27 references indexed in Scilit:
- Derivation and validation of the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics classification criteria for systemic lupus erythematosusArthritis & Rheumatism, 2012
- Diagnostic value and clinical laboratory associations of antibodies against recombinant ribosomal P0, P1 and P2 proteins and their native heterocomplex in a Caucasian cohort with systemic lupus erythematosusArthritis Research & Therapy, 2011
- Systemic lupus erythematosus in a multiethnic US cohort, XXXVII: Association of lymphopenia with clinical manifestations, serologic abnormalities, disease activity, and damage accrualArthritis Care & Research, 2006
- Moderate and severe neutropenia in patients with systemic lupus erythematosusRheumatology, 2006
- Lymphocytopenia in lupus erythematosus: close in vivo association to autoantibodies targeting nuclear antigensBritish Journal of Dermatology, 2004
- The GLADEL Multinational Latin American Prospective Inception Cohort of 1,214 Patients With Systemic Lupus ErythematosusMedicine, 2004
- Lupus in Hong Kong ChineseLupus, 2003
- Updating the American college of rheumatology revised criteria for the classification of systemic lupus erythematosusArthritis & Rheumatism, 1997
- The 1982 revised criteria for the classification of systemic lupus erythematosusArthritis & Rheumatism, 1982
- Lymphopenia In Systemic Lupus ErythematosusArthritis & Rheumatism, 1978