The spectrum of nasal involvement in systemic lupus erythematosus and its association with the disease activity

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the spectrum of nasal involvement in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and its association with the disease activity of SLE based on the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI). This was a cross-sectional and observational study involving 73 stable SLE patients. All subjects were evaluated for the SLEDAI scores and had nasal endoscopic examination. The most commonly reported symptom was nasal congestion (31.5%) followed by nasal itchiness (26.0%), runny nose (20.5%) and nasal dryness (19.2%). Almost half (42.9%) of the subjects had nasal mucosal abnormalities, which included mucositis, crusting, ulceration, bifid middle turbinate, septal spur, Jacobson’s organ, deviated nasal septum, bilateral inferior turbinate hypertrophy, everted uncinate process, nasopharynx cleft and torus palatinus. The median SLEDAI score for subjects with nasal symptoms was significantly higher than subjects without nasal symptoms ( p < 0.05). Similarly, subjects with moderate to high activity (SLEDAI scores of 6–19) had a significantly higher frequency of both nasal symptoms and nasal mucosal abnormalities ( p < 0.05) compared to subjects with no to mild activity (SLEDAI scores of 0–5).