Retrospective study of 18 dogs with systemic lupus erythematosus (2008 – 2018)

Abstract

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic multisystemic immune-mediated disease. There is a broad spectrum of clinical presentations due to involvement of many organic systems, so SLE can result in a variety of disease syndromes and there are no specific clinical signs pathognomonic for SLE and various criteria have been developed for making a diagnosis of SLE in dogs. Systemic lupus erythematosus in uncommon in dogs and there are few studies on the clinical and laboratorial characteristics of SLE in this species in Brazil. The objective of the study was to evaluate the clinical features and diagnostic test results in dogs with suspected SLE presented between 2008 and 2018 in a Veterinary Teaching Hospital. A diagnosis of SLE was considered if the dog had a LE cell test positivity and presence of at least two major signs (skin lesions, polyarthritis, hemolytic anemia, glomerulonephritis, leukopenia, and thrombocytopenia) of systemic lupus erythematosus or one major sign and two minor signs (fever of unknown origin, nervous system signs, oral ulceration, lymphadenopathy, pericarditis or pleuritis). Data collected included signalment, history clinical signs, physical examination findings, complete blood count, serum biochemistry profiles, infectious disease screening and outcome and response to treatment. Most of the dogs were small-to-medium crossbreed dogs. The mean age at presentation was 4.86 years and females were more represented, being eight times more affected than males. The most common clinical signs were polyarthritis, fever and skin lesions. Regarding the hematological disorders, anemia was the most observed alteration followed by proteinuria. Immunosuppressive therapy was performed in 16 dogs, using prednisone alone or in combination with azathioprine, and 15 dogs improved total or partially and 1 dog was submitted to euthanasia. Although the LE cell test is not considered the gold standard exam for the diagnosis nowadays, the association of this test with laboratorial and clinical signs was important for diagnosis. Success in treating dogs with SLE was dependent on recognizing all possible presentations of the disease and correct choice of complementary exams.