| Abstract: | ![]()
Knowledge of prognosis is critical for rational choice of therapy. Systemic lupus erythematosus, with its broad clinical spectrum, presents an example of the problem of prognostication for the individual patient. The life table method can provide prognostic information. It need not be limited to estimation of survivorship, and its utility can be multiplied by a computer databank. Analysis of prognosis for different groups of patients, from different events in their course, over different time periods, and to different end points can then be performed. Using this technic, specific clinical variables in systemic lupus erythematosus were assessed for their effect upon particular outcomes. Clinical variables representing functional organ impairment were found to carry a worse prognosis than the popular serologic indicators. New abnormalities were found to occur less frequently in later years of the disease. Different subpopulations of patients have strikingly different expectations, and these differences carry important therapeutic implications. |
