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Review
. 2020 May 13;22(6):18.
doi: 10.1007/s11926-020-00896-6.

New Criteria for Lupus

Martin Aringer  1 , Nicolai Leuchten  2 , Sindhu R Johnson  3   4
Affiliations
Review

New Criteria for Lupus

Martin Aringer et al. Curr Rheumatol Rep. .

Abstract

Purpose of the review: Classification criteria define the patient population for clinical trials and translational studies, but also influence current understanding of the disease. This review attempts to delineate the development from the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 1982 to the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR)/ACR 2019 classification criteria for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Recent findings: The new EULAR/ACR classification criteria use antinuclear antibodies (ANA) as an entry criterion. (Non-infectious) fever is the one new criterion. All criteria items now have individual weights (from 2 to 10) and are structured in domains, within which only the highest item is counted. There is one common attribution rule, counting criteria only if there is no more likely alternative explanation. Ten points are sufficient for classification. The new criteria have reached a sensitivity of 96.1% and a specificity of 93.4%. The new EULAR/ACR 2019 classification criteria for SLE build on the previous criteria sets, adding fever only as a new criteria item. The new structure is reflective of the current diagnostic approach and has led to improved statistical performance.

Keywords: Antinuclear antibodies; Arthritis; Classification criteria; Cutaneous lupus erythematosus; Nephritis; Systemic lupus erythematosus.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The overall structure for classification according to the ACR 1982 and 1997, the SLICC 2012, and the EULAR/ACR 2019 classification criteria for SLE
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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