DefinePK

Abstract

Background: Lupus is an inflammatory disorder that involves many different organ systems. One of these systems is coagulation cascade. This leads to increased rate of venous thromboembolism (VTE). Isolated cutaneous lupus (CLE) is typically thought to just be limited to cutaneous structures. However, there has been very little studies on evaluating the risk of VTE in patients with CLE. This paper attempts to outline whether CLE is a risk factor for VTE.
Methods: Two large databases of patient information were used, the NIS, and HCUP. Using the ICD 9-10 codes from these discharge summaries it was possible to see which patients had both an in-hospital diagnosis of VTE and CLE. Patients with other rheumatologic diseases aside from CLE were excluded.
Results: A total of 3551 patients with CLE and 35,608 with SLE were identified in the 2015-2016 population. CLE and SLE were associated with a statistically significant increased risk of VTE in adjusted and unadjusted analyses. 912 patients with SLE were diagnosed with VTE (2.6%) with a p-value of <0.001.
Conclusion: Through adjusted analysis of the discharge diagnosis it was found the 1.6% of patients also had an in hospital VTE diagnosis. This correlated with an increased risk of VTE with a p value of .0026.