Keywords
Systemic
Arthritis
Rheumatoid
Infection
Opportunistic Infections
How to Cite
Abstract
Background: Dysfunction of the immune system plays a key role in systemic autoimmune diseases, and infections are one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality. The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of infectious complications in patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) and Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and to identify the most frequent infectious agents. Methods: Observational retrospective cross-sectional study, with non-probability sampling of consecutive cases diagnosed with SLE or RA, that were admitted to our service from January 2014 to November 2016. Results: A total of 33 patients with diagnosis of SLE and RA were included. Average age was 43.82 ±18.57 years, and 73 % of patients were female. Twenty one had SLE (63.4 %) and 12/33 had (36.4 %) RA. Twenty-five patients (0.75) of these were hospitalized because of infection, 14/21 (0.66) of SLE patients and 11/12 (0.91) of RA patients. In patients with SLE, 78.6 % of infections were bacterial, 21.4 % mycotic, and 7.1 % parasitic. In RA patients, 81.6 % of infections were bacterial, 27.2 % mycotic, 8.3 % viral, and 9.1 % parasitic. Respiratory tract infections were the most common (30 %). The most frequently encountered bacteria and fungi were Escherichia coli and Candida spp.,respectively. Conclusion: In this cohort, the frequency of admission for infectious complications was 0.66 in SLE patients and 0.91 in RA patients. The most common infections were bacterial and mycotic, with Escherichia coli and Candida spp. being responsible for the majority of cases.
References
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