Predictive factors for concomitant pulmonary arterial hypertension at diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus in a Chinese population.

Aim: To investigate the predictive factors of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. Method: This chart review study included 408 SLE patients. We defined PAH as 2 consecutive systolic pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP) values ≥40 mm Hg by echocardiography. Demographic characteristics, clinical symptoms, autoantibodies, and laboratory tests were studied. Results: Thirty‐four patients in the SLE/PAH+ group and 374 patients in the SLE/PAH− group were analyzed. The prevalence of PAH in SLE is 8.3% in this study. The occurrences of interstitial pneumonitis, polyserositis and myocardial damage were higher in the SLE/PAH+ group (P =.001, P =.033 and P <.001, respectively). The occurrence of anti‐double‐stranded DNA and anti‐ribosomal RNA protein (anti‐rRNP) antibodies were lower in the SLE/PAH+ group (P =.003,.010). Positive rates of anti‐Sjögren's syndrome antigen A (anti‐SSA)/Ro52 antibodies and anti‐SSB antibodies were higher in the SLE/PAH+ group (P =.046,.021). C‐reactive protein and immunoglobin G (IgG) were higher in the SLE/PAH+ group (P =.009,.005). Ejection fraction and SLE disease activity index between the 2 groups had no differences. Multivariable logistic regression indicated that interstitial pneumonitis, myocardial damage and high IgG are predictive factors for SLE‐associated PAH patients. Conclusion: From this study, we found that interstitial pneumonitis, myocardial damage, and high IgG were predictive factors of PAH in SLE patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]