OBJECTIVE: to analyse clinical and laboratory features of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and to describe the early damage outcome of SLE patients in recent onset disease. METHODS: a retrospective study of 164 SLE patients followed at The Onofre Lopes University Hospital - Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (ufrn), from April, 2003 to December, 2004. The clinical and laboratory data were analyzed according to American College of Rheumatology criteria for sle. Thirty two patients between two and three years of disease were evaluated concerning the irreversible damage using slicc/acr di (Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/American College of Rheumatology Damage Index). RESULTS: the most frequent clinical manifestations were cutaneous (90.2%), specially photosensitivity. The other clinical and laboratory features were similar to the literature. Early organ damage was present in nine patients (28.1%) with recent onset disease and the cutaneous involvement (12.5%) was the most frequent too. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that high exposure to ultraviolet light rays could influence clinical manifestations and early damage in sle patients.
systemic lupus erythematosus; clinical manifestations; early damage; SLICC
