Pneumococcal infection in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

Abstract Objective Our study aimed to analyze the risk factors associated with the occurrence and severity of pneumococcal infection (PI) in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. Methods Medical records of all SLE patients admitted in our department from January 2005 to December 2014 were retrospectively reviewed. SLE patients were separated in 2 groups according to whether they had PI or not. Medical records of all consecutive patients (with and without SLE) admitted in our department for PI over the same period of time were also reviewed. Clinical characteristics associated with PI occurrence and severity were analyzed in SLE patients. Results One hundred and ninety SLE patients (42.2 + 14.9 years; 87.4% females) were hospitalized over a 10-year period. PI was the reason for admission in 6 (3.2%) patients, including 5 cases of invasive infection. With a follow-up of 2112.8 patient-years for the total cohort, incidence of invasive PI in SLE was of 236/100,000 patient-years. PI occurred at a younger age (43.5 + 14.9 versus 65.3 + 18.7 years, P P P P P P P Conclusion SLE is a disease of high susceptibility for invasive pneumococcal infections. Our study points to the need for vaccination against Streptococcus pneumoniae in SLE.