Alveolar hemorrhage: distinct features of juvenile and adult onset systemic lupus erythematosus

Abstract

We compared outcomes of alveolar hemorrhage (AH) in juvenile (JSLE) and adult onset SLE (ASLE). From 263 JSLE and 1522 ASLE, the AH occurred in 13 (4.9%) and 15 (1.0%) patients, respectively (p < .001). Both groups had comparable disease duration (2.6 ± 3.0 vs. 5.6 ± 7.0 years, p = .151) and median SLEDAI scores [17.5 (2 to 32) vs. 17.5 (3 to 28), p = 1.000]. At AH onset, a higher frequency of JSLE were already on a high prednisone dose ( > 0.5 mg/kg/day) compared to ASLE (54% vs. 15%, p = .042). The mean drop of hemoglobin was significantly lower in JSLE (2.9 ± 0.9 vs. 5.5 ± 2.9 g/dL, p = .006). Although treatments with methylprednisolone, plasmapheresis, intravenous immunoglobulin and cyclophosphamide were similar in both groups (p > .050), regarding outcomes, there was a trend in high frequency of mechanical ventilation use (85% vs. 47%, p = .055) and also significant mortality (69% vs. 13%, p = .006) in JSLE compared to ASLE. The sepsis frequency was comparable in both groups (50% vs. 27%, p = .433). We have identified that AH in JSLE has a worse outcome most likely related to respiratory failure. The AH onset in JSLE already treated with high-dose steroids raises the concern of inadequate response to this treatment and reinforces the recommendation of early aggressive alternative therapies in this group of patients.