Disease Activity Indices in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: What Is New?

Abstract

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a complicated multisystem autoimmune disease that carries substantial mortality and morbidity. The development of new therapies is partly hindered by the lack of a flawless instrument to gauge disease activity in different organs for the primary efficacy outcome. Until a global consensus is reached regarding the most preferred assessment tool, application of any of the existing disease activity indices is acceptable in clinical practice and research. However, one should have a more thorough understanding of the strength and limitations of individual disease activity instruments. This article updates the SLE disease activity indices commonly used in clinical trials and their latest stage of development.

Keywords

• Lupus
• Disease Activity
• Composite
• Index
• Assessment
• Tool