Lupus Survey

SLE Disease Control Criteria

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is a heterogeneous autoimmune disease, characterized by diverse clinical manifestations and unpredictable disease flares.^1-3

Evidence from the multinational SLE Prospective Observational Cohort Study (SPOCS), which enrolled patients between 2017 and 2019 and followed them for three years, demonstrates that fewer than 20% of patients reached Lupus Low Disease Activity State (LLDAS), and fewer than 15% achieved remission during the observation period.^4,5

Treatment Goals

Attaining remission or LLDAS is strongly associated with meaningful improvements for patients, including reduced organ damage accrual, fewer disease flares, and enhanced health-related quality of life.^6-11 This has driven the widespread adoption of structured treatment targets such as the Lupus Low Disease Activity State (LLDAS) and the DORIS (Definition of Remission in SLE)* criteria, which now define what successful outcomes should look like in everyday care.^6,12-14

EULAR Recommendations

EULAR Recommendations confirm Remission and LLDAS as key treatment goals through:^15,16

Early SLE Diagnosis and Treatment Optimization are Essential
Prompt Initiation of Treatment Aiming at Remission (or Low Disease Activity)
Lowering steroid dose of ≤5 mg as early as possible in the course of disease. Ideally,  the use of steroids would only be limited to rescue bridging therapy and withdrawn  when possible.

^*Previous DORIS definitions of remission were utilized in evaluations of impact on SLE.^6,15,16
DORIS, definition of remission in SLE; HRQoL, health related quality of life; EULAR, European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology; LDA, Low Disease Activity; LLDAS, lupus low disease activity state; SLE, systemic lupus erythematosus.

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