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correspondence

Indian Pediatr 2013;50: 886

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus in Children: The Indian Story!


Yogi Raj Chopra and Satya Prakash Yadav

 Pediatric Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplant Unit,  Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurgaon, Haryana, India.
Email: [email protected]
 

 


A recently published article on clinical and immunological profile of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in Indian children [1] has missed on comparing their data with already published data from India of around 195 children [2-6]. We wish to highlight these differences.

Hypocomplementemia (low level of C3/C4) was seen was seen in only 20% of children [1] which is much lower than the published incidence of 57% to 80% in Indian children [2-6]. Hematological manifestations are common in pediatric SLE. In the current study [1] authors mention that the hematological manifestations in children are more common than adults but they have not provided the relevant data. Similarly, data about number of children with photosensitivity or discoid rash is missing.

Also, hepatosplenomegaly was evident in only 12% of children [1] in this study which is less than reported incidence of 35-47% [2-5].

The published data is from few tertiary care centres and may not be representative of the entire country. A national registry needs to be established so as to present a pan-India data on the presentation and outcome of SLE in Indian children.

References

1. Pradhan V, Patwardhan M, Rajadhyaksha A, Ghosh K. Clinical and immunological profile of systemic lupus erythematosus. Indian Pediatr. 2013;50:405-7.

2. Singh S, Kumar L, Khetarpal R, Aggarwal P, Marwaha RK, Minz RW, et al. Clinical and immunological profile of SLE some unusual features. Indian Pediatr. 1997;34:979-85.

3. Chandrasekaran AN, Rajendran CP, Ramakrishnan S, Madhavan R, Parthiban M. Childhood systemic lupus erythematosus in south India. Indian J Pediatr. 1994;61: 223-39.

4. Ali US, Dalvi AS, Merchant RH, Mehta KP, Chablani AT, Badakere SS, et al. Systemic lupus erythematosus in Indian children. Indian Pediatr. 1989;26:868-73.

5. Agarwal I, Kumar L , Ranjini K, Kirubakaran C, Danda D. Clinical features and outcomes of sytemic lupus erythematosus. Indian Pediatr. 2009;46:711-6.

6. Sawhney S, Chopra Y, Agarwal M. Pediatric SLE at tertiary level centre in North India [abstract]. Lupus. 2010;19:181.

 

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