Background:
Neuropsychiatric involvement in systemic lupus erythematosus (NPSLE) is a complex condition that remains poorly understood and includes heterogeneous manifestations involving both the central and peripheral nervous system, with disabling the effect. NPSLE is a well-known manifestation of systemic lupus which has been pronounced in about 40% of lupus patients in recent studies. This study was conducted to evaluate the frequency and pattern of neuropsychiatric manifestations among lupus patients in the Saudi population. This study also took interest to look into the importance of awareness regarding suboptimal psychological assessment for lupus patients which could act as a pivotal factor in determining their quality of life.
Methodology
A descriptive retrospective case series method was used to evaluate the frequency and characteristics of neurological and psychiatric manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients who were seen in the outpatient clinic and the daycare unit at Aseer Central Hospital, Abha, Saudi Arabia during a period of six years from 2012-2017.
Results:
The study included 50 SLE patients with age ranging from 18 to 56 years. Any patientÂ’s file which did not document the presence of neurological or psychological diseases related to systemic lupus had been excluded. Among the total patients, 52% complained of at least one of the neurological disorders, and 36% complained only of psychiatric disorders, while the remaining 12% complained of both neurological and psychiatric disorders. The most frequently recorded complain was a headache (36%) followed by strokes (26%). About 18% of patients reported with nephritis had psychiatric manifestations, and 64.7% had neurological manifestations. Also, 34% of patients with vasculitis had psychiatric manifestations, and 52.3% had neurological manifestations. Both associations had no statistical significance.
Conclusion:
This study found that the psychological assessment of lupus patient was noticeably under the standard of evaluation and many of the psychological disorders are commonly missed during the diagnosis.
Key words: Prevalence, SLE, neurological manifestations, psychiatric manifestations, association with neuropsychiatric manifestations, neurological disorders with SLE, psychiatric disorders with SLE.
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