Background The aim of this study was to determine the causes of mortality in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) at the University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust over a 10yr period.

Methods This was a retrospective study of patients who had died in UHCW NHS Trust between 2007 and 2016, where SLE or lupus was mentioned on the death certificate. Ethics approval was obtained from the Research and Development.

Results We identified 22 patients out of 1979 patients with SLE who had died during the period between 2007- 2016, 7 of these patients were under 50. The leading cause of death was infection. Active disease was associated with higher mortality and younger age of death. We identified 3 patients with biopsy proven lupus nephritis and 1 patient with CNS lupus. Median age at death was 58.5 years, with median duration of disease of 14.5 years. Constitutional symptoms were the main symptoms of system involvement found in our study population, seen in 68.2%. Surprisingly, none of the patients died because of vascular problems.

Conclusion The study suggests a changing trend in SLE mortality with none of the deaths in this cohort being due to cardiovascular or cerebrovascular disease. Infection continues to be the biggest reason for mortality in this cohort.

Note This abstract is due to be published as a full paper in the Rheumatology International Journal.