Algorithm for diagnosis and initial therapy of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)

For guidelines on management of lupus and lupus nephritis, see Hahn BH et al: Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken) 64:797, 2012; Bertsias GK et al: Ann Rheum Dis 71:1771, 2012; Anders HJ, Rovin B: Kidney Int 2016 Epub ahead of print. For details on mycophenolate and cyclophosphamide induction and maintenance therapies, see Henderson L et al: Cochrane Database Syst Rev 12:CD002922, 2012; Ginzler EM et al: Arthritis Rheum 62:211, 2010; Houssiau FA et al: Ann Rheum Dis 69:61, 2010; and Dooley MA et al: N Engl J Med 365:1886, 2011. For belimumab in treatment, see Bruce IN et al: Long term organ damage accumulation and safety in patients with SLE treated with belimumab plus standard of care. Lupus 25:699, 2016; Hahn BH: N Eng J Med 368:1528, 2013. For rituximab, see Lightstone L: Lupus 22:390, 2013 and Rovin BH et al: Arthritis Rheum 64:1215, 2012. For tacrolimus, see Liu Z et al: Multitarget therapy for induction treatment of lupus nephritis: A randomized trial. Ann Intern Med 162:18, 2015. ANA, antinuclear antibodies; CBC, complete blood count.

Harrison's 20th edition