OBJECTIVE: To perform a retrospective analysis of clinical and laboratorial aspects of 104 Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) patients attended in a medical office in the city of Belém, Pará, Brazil, in the period between 1990 and 1999. METHODS: A medical record review was done through the Latin American Study of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (ELALES) adapted for this specific region and 104 patients were eligible. The following parameters were analyzed: clinical and laboratorial aspects, sex, race, age, age at onset of disease, evolution time, manifestations at the beginning and during the evolution of the disease. Statistical tests were applied to the data and compared with the literature. RESULTS: From those 104 patients identified, 91,53% were female, with predominance of white race (53.85%). Concerning the age of onset 25.96%patients were from 26-30 years, being that also the most frequent age of the last consultation registered in medical records (24.04%). The initial and evolutive more common clinical symptoms were arthritis/joint pain (77.88% and 78.85% respectively). Low prevalence of photosensitivity was observed (34.62%) in comparision with literature, representing a paradox once in tropical areas there is a greater exposition to ultraviolet rays. Tests for antinuclear antibodies were positive in 83.84% of the patients. CONCLUSIONS: This report provides a partial understanding of SLE in this specific city, therefore a prospective study would be of great value to identify factors that contribute to the typical characteristics of this region in order to have a better diagnosis and therapeutical approach.
SLE; ELALES; photosensitivity; antinuclear antibodies
