ABSTRACT

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease characterized by activity and remission in its course. One of the main determinants of prognosis in lupus is the timely control of disease activity. Despite a number of activity indices that have been developed for lupus, there are considerable limitations of each given the heterogeneity of the disease. Ideally, an activity index should reflect worsening, stability, and improvement in an organ/system; give information on the severity of symptoms and be easily performed with negligible differences among clinicians. This paper aims to revise the activity indices developed for SLE so far.