Lupus & antiphospholipid syndrome
Hydroxychloroquine in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: how much is enough?
An erratum to this article was published (Lupus Sci Med, 20 Apr 2025 ↗)
Authors' conclusion
With the use of HCQ at stable doses of 200 mg/day (or 3.0-3.5 mg/kg/day) as the background therapy in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, the majority of patients achieved prolonged remission.
Study context
- Population
- Inception patients with SLE treated with hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) with at least 5 years of follow-up, Lupus-Cruces cohort
- Participants
- 150 inception patients
- Exposure
- Weight-adjusted HCQ dose in patients with vs without prolonged remission
- Prolonged remissionn = 108
- Outcome
- Association between weight-adjusted HCQ dose during 5 years and prolonged remission
- Follow-up
- 5 years
Methodological detailsinception cohort, routine clinical care data
- Inception cohort
- Routine clinical care data
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Mean weight-adjusted HCQ dose per patient · 5-year follow-up
P = 0.5
- Patients in prolonged remission
- 108 (72%)
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
HCQ dosing
- Mean starting dose of HCQ (mg/day)
- 206
- Mean weight-adjusted starting dose (mg/kg/day)
- 3.1
- Patients treated with doses ≥5 mg/kg/day
- 0
- HCQ maintained during whole 5-year follow-up
- 147 (98%)
- Mean HCQ dose during 5-year follow-up (mg/day)
- 194.6
- Mean weight-adjusted HCQ dose during 5-year follow-up (mg/kg/day)
- 2.9
Prednisone dose per patient · 5-year follow-up
- Mean prednisone dose (mg/day)
- 2.3
- Did not differ according to weight-adjusted HCQ dose
Weight-adjusted HCQ dose by immunosuppressives (IS) or mepacrine use · whole follow-up
- Same in patients treated or not with IS or with mepacrine
Original publication
Hydroxychloroquine in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: how much is enough? Lupus Sci Med. Published 26 February 2025. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →