Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39934867›Full record

ArticleAdvances in rheumatology (London, England)2025

Dual seropositive nonerosive lupus arthritis: rhupus or not?

Mete Pekdiker, Mete Kara

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Advances in rheumatology (London, England), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Mete PekdikerDepartment of Internal Medicine-Rheumatology, Faculty of Medicine, Mustafa Kemal University, Alahan, Hatay, 31060, Turkey. mete.pekdiker@hotmail.com.ORCID 0000-0003-3089-1564
Mete KaraDepartment of Internal Medicine-Rheumatology, Izmir Bozyaka Education and Research Hospital, Izmir, Turkey.ORCID 0000-0003-4690-610X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThere is no consensus on the classification of lupus arthritis (LA). In this study, we aimed to investigate patients with LA who were clinically and serologically very similar to those patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

methodsThe electronic medical files of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients from a single tertiary rheumatology department between 2017 and 2022 were reviewed. The inclusion criteria were being age ≥ 18 years, having nonerosive peripheral arthritis lasting longer than six months, and having dual seropositive (rheumatoid factor (RF) and anti-citrullinated protein antibody (anti-CCP)) serology. A nonerosive course of arthritis was demonstrated by both conventional radiography and joint ultrasound. Images were assessed by two blinded rheumatologists. Patients with drug-induced lupus and those with other rheumatologic diseases were excluded.

resultsThe cases of 528 patients were reviewed, and eight patients were included in the study. All patients were female, and the median age was 48.5 years. The median SLE and arthritis durations were 12 and seven years, respectively. The most common SLE symptom was photosensitivity (n = 8). Only one patient had life-threatening involvement (LTI), which was a seizure and autoimmune haemolytic anaemia. All patients had arthritis affecting the wrist and hand. Anti-dsDNA was the most common anti-ENA antibody (n = 7), followed by anti-SSA (n = 5). The median RF and anti-CCP titres were 82.5 IU/ml and 81.5 U/ml, respectively. Five patients had high titres of autoantibodies, and only one patient had slight hypocomplementemia. Three patients needed biologic agents, and remission was achieved after treatment with rituximab.

conclusionDespite a long arthritis duration and dual seropositive serology with high titres of RF and anti-CCP, our patients had SLE rather than rhupus syndrome. The low frequency of LTIs, such as lupus nephritis, was a remarkable feature of our patients. Lupus arthritis may be clinically and serologically indistinguishable from RA. Prospective studies are needed to better define LA.

Indexed as

Anti-Citrullinated Protein AntibodiesArthritisLupus Erythematosus, SystemicRheumatoid FactorAdultArthritis, RheumatoidFemaleHumansMiddle AgedRetrospective StudiesAnti-Citrullinated Protein AntibodiesRheumatoid FactorAnti-citrullinated protein antibodyArthritisRheumatoid factorSystemic lupus erythematosus

Identifiers

PMID39934867
PMCPMC13488731

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.