A new screening algorithm accounting for serum creatinine, white blood cell count, hemoglobin, platelets, high-risk immunosuppression, and the proportion of missed appointments may be useful in identifying patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) who are at an increased risk of hospitalization, according to a recent study. All patients with SLE at a single academic medical center, who were seen at least once between 2010 and 2017, were identified. Of these 3,552 patients, 813 were randomly selected for chart review using a random number generator, and 226 were verified to have seen an outpatient rheumatologist and met the American College of Rheumatology Classification Criteria for SLE. Researchers found:

• There were 160 patients with no lupus-related hospitalizations and 66 patients with such a hospitalization.
• In a multivariate analysis accounting for age, gender, and race, serum creatinine >1.20 mg/dL, white blood cell count > 10 (thousand)/µL, hemoglobin <11 g/dL, platelets < 180 (thousand)/µL, high risk immunosuppression use, missing between 0 and 20% of appointments, and missing ≥20% of appointments were associated with an increased risk of hospitalizations.