Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41033712›Full record

ArticleRMD open2025

Systemic lupus erythematosus damage risk index (SLE-DRI): a simple machine learning-based tool for identifying patients at risk for early organ damage.

Panagiotis Garantziotis, Dionysis Nikolopoulos, Spyridon Katechis, Alp Temiz, Danae-Mona Nöthling, Christina Adamichou, Christina Bergmann, Prodromos Sidiropoulos, Georg Schett, Antonis Fanouriakis and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in RMD open, 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

12 authors.

Panagiotis GarantziotisDeutsches Zentrum für Immuntherapie (DZI), Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg and Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany.ORCID 0009-0006-9432-1228
Dionysis NikolopoulosDivision of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine Solna, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital and Center for Molecular Medicine (CMM), Stockholm, Sweden.
Spyridon Katechis *Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology Unit, 4th Department of Internal Medicine, Attikon University Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
Alp Temiz *Deutsches Zentrum für Immuntherapie (DZI), Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg and Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany.ORCID 0000-0003-0804-3198
Danae-Mona NöthlingDeutsches Zentrum für Immuntherapie (DZI), Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg and Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany.
Christina Adamichou4th Department of Internal Medicine, Hippokration University Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.ORCID 0000-0001-7374-7795
Christina BergmannDeutsches Zentrum für Immuntherapie (DZI), Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg and Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany.
Prodromos SidiropoulosRheumatology and Clinical Immunology, University of Crete School of Medicine, Heraklion, Greece.ORCID 0000-0001-9607-0326
Georg SchettDeutsches Zentrum für Immuntherapie (DZI), Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg and Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany.
Antonis FanouriakisRheumatology and Clinical Immunology Unit, 4th Department of Internal Medicine, Attikon University Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.ORCID 0000-0003-2696-031X
Dimitrios T BoumpasRheumatology and Clinical Immunology Unit, 4th Department of Internal Medicine, Attikon University Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.ORCID 0000-0002-9812-4671
George BertsiasRheumatology and Clinical Immunology, University of Crete School of Medicine, Heraklion, Greece gbertsias@uoc.gr.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveOrgan damage is a key determinant of poor prognosis and increased mortality in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). However, no validated clinical tools for predicting damage accumulation currently exist. We sought to develop a machine learning-based model to predict early organ damage in patients with SLE.

methodsClassification criteria (American College of Rheumatology (ACR)-1997, Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC)-2012, European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR)/ACR-2019) and non-criteria features of a cohort of 914 patients with SLE were analysed to predict damage (defined as SLICC/ACR Damage Index (SDI)) within 5 years since diagnosis. Feature selection and model construction were performed using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator-logistic regression (LASSO-LR). The best model in 10-fold cross-validation was tested in an external cohort (n=50).

resultsA LASSO-LR model incorporating 16 criteria and non-criteria features predicted early organ damage with area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) values of 0.80 (95% CI 0.74 to 0.87) and 0.86 (95% CI 0.76 to 0.97) in the derivation and external validation cohorts, respectively, outperforming the ACR-1997 (AUC 0.70; 95% CI 0.62 to 0.78), SLICC-2012 (AUC 0.74; 95% CI 0.66 to 0.81) and EULAR/ACR-2019 (AUC 0.70; 95% CI 0.63 to 0.78) classification systems. Features most strongly associated with damage included the SLICC-2012 neurological disorder, EULAR/ACR-2019 class III/IV lupus nephritis and among non-criteria manifestations, myocarditis and interstitial lung disease. Operating the model as a binary classifier (early damage versus no damage), it demonstrated high specificity (0.90, 95% CI 0.78 to 0.95). The model can be converted to a simplified scoring system, with a threshold of ≥3 achieving an AUC of 0.86 (95% CI 0.75 to 0.96).

conclusionWe developed and validated a clinician-friendly model for early organ damage prediction in SLE, facilitating risk stratification.

Indexed as

Lupus Erythematosus, SystemicMachine LearningAdultFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPrognosisRisk AssessmentRisk FactorsROC CurveSeverity of Illness IndexBiomarkersClassificationSeverity IndexSystemic Lupus Erythematosus

Identifiers

PMID41033712
PMCPMC12496050

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
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.