Narrow Results

Pregnancy and fetal outcomes in patients suffering from systemic lupus erythematosus or antiphospholipid syndrome have been well described, as these are more common diseases and associated with frequent maternal and fetal complications. The data is scant about pregnancy-related morbidity and its outcome among less common rheumatic diseases like inflammatory myositis, systemic sclerosis (SSc), and vasculitis. Inflammatory myositis, vasculitis, and SSc are associated with higher risk of spontaneous abortions, preterm delivery, and intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). Conception during active disease is associated with poor pregnancy outcomes, hence good control of disease is important. These diseases also increase risk of maternal complications like hypertension, preeclampsia, and antepartum hemorrhage. Due to rarity of these diseases, the individual experience of a physician is limited, thus it requires a collaborative team approach to have best outcome.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a complicated multisystem autoimmune disease that carries substantial mortality and morbidity. The development of new therapies is partly hindered by the lack of a flawless instrument to gauge disease activity in different organs for the primary efficacy outcome. Until a global consensus is reached regarding the most preferred assessment tool, application of any of the existing disease activity indices is acceptable in clinical practice and research. However, one should have a more thorough understanding of the strength and limitations of individual disease activity instruments. This article updates the SLE disease activity indices commonly used in clinical trials and their latest stage of development.