Pericarditis is a significant cardiac manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). However, the prevalence of recurrent pericarditis and its risk factors remain unclear. To address this gap, a retrospective study has analyzed data from 2,931 SLE patients to determine recurrence rates and associated risk factors. Among the study population, 590 patients had a history of pericarditis.
Over a median follow-up of 6.7 years, 20.3% (120) experienced recurrence. Several factors were associated with an increased risk of pericarditis recurrence, including younger age (18-39 years), oral prednisone treatment, active SLE disease, and the time elapsed since the initial episode. Notably, recurrence was most likely to occur within one year of the initial pericarditis onset. These findings suggest that clinicians should avoid oral corticosteroids when treating pericarditis in SLE patients.…
