Factors affecting reduced cellular response in patients with cSLE
| IGRA-positive n=9 | IGRA-negative n=7 | P value | |
| Clinical characteristics | |||
| Age, years | 16.7 (16.3, 17.1) | 13.7 (13.5, 13.9) | 0.68 |
| Sex (female), n (%) | 8 (89) | 4 (57) | 0.15 |
| Age of onset of disease, years | 12.3 (11.8, 12.8) | 5.3 (0.8, 9.9) | 0.07 |
| Follow-up duration, months | 52.8 (41.9, 63.8) | 106.4 (48.6, 164.3) | 0.30 |
| V-SLEDAI-2K score | 4.0 (0.0, 4.0) | 1.0 (0.0, 2.0) | 0.40 |
| S-SLEDAI-2K score | 2.0 (0.0, 4.0) | 2.0 (0.5, 3.5) | 0.83 |
| Time after second dose of vaccination, weeks | 27.9 (27.7, 28.1) | 21.3 (9, 33.6) | 0.95 |
| Laboratory findings | |||
| eGFR (mL/min/1.73 m2) | 98.8 (73, 125) | 102.5 (97, 108) | 0.60 |
| V-white cell count, ×109/L | 8.3 (6.7, 9.9) | 5.6 (5.4, 5.8) | 0.008 |
| V-lymphocytes, ×109 /L | 2.5 (2.0, 3.0) | 1.05 (0.5, 1.6) | 0.001 |
| V-neutrophils, ×109 /L | 4.4 (3.7, 5.9) | 4.2 (1.4, 4.8) | 0.42 |
| S-lymphocytes, ×109 /L | 1.6 (1.3, 1.9) | 1.95 (0.30, 3.6) | 0.17 |
| V-C3 (0.9–1.8 g/L) | 0.86 (0.67, 1.0) | 0.98 (0.91, 1.0) | 0.53 |
| V-C4 (0.1–0.4 g/L) | 0.12 (0.09, 0.15) | 0.36 (0.05, 0.68) | 0.43 |
| V-dsDNA (IgG) (<12 IU/mL) | 154.7 (9.5, 300) | 129.5 (1.1, 258) | 0.64 |
| S-C3 (0.9–1.8 g/L) | 0.81 (0.59, 1.0) | 1.05 (1.0, 1.1) | 0.95 |
| S-C4 (0.1–0.4 g/L) | 0.11 (0.06, 0.16) | 0.38 (0.11, 0.65) | 0.53 |
| S-dsDNA (IgG) (<12 IU/mL) | 149.4 (8.8, 290.0) | 26.4 (0.85, 52.0) | 0.91 |
| SLE antibody positivity, n (%) | |||
| Anti-smooth muscle antibodies | 1/9 (11) | 1/6 (17) | 0.65 |
| Anti-SS-A | 1/9 (11) | 2/6 (33) | 0.52 |
| Anti-SS-B | 0 | 2 (33) | 0.07 |
| Anti-cardiolipin antibodies | 3/9 (33) | 2/7 (29) | 0.84 |
| Anti-β2-glycoprotein 1 | 1/9 (11) | 2/7 (29) | 0.55 |
| Anti-phospholipid antibodies | 0 | 2/7 (29) | 0.10 |
| Lupus anticoagulants | 0 | 4/7 (57) | 0.50 |
| Immunosuppressive treatment | |||
| Steroid use, n (%) | 4/9 (44) | 6/7 (86) | 0.14 |
| Steroid dose, mg/kg | 0.08 (0.08, 0.14) | 0.6 (0.18, 1.2) | 0.19 |
| Steroid dose >10 mg/day, n (%) | 1/4 (25) | 4/6 (67) | 0.52 |
| MMF/AZA, n (%) | 5/9 (57) | 6/7 (86) | 0.30 |
| MMF, n (%) | 3/9 (33) | 3/7 (43) | 0.70 |
| MMF dose, mg/m² | 824 (316, 1333) | 1000 (857, 1166) | 1.00 |
| AZA, n (%) | 2/9 (22) | 3/9 (43) | 0.39 |
| HCQ, n (%) | 8/9 (89) | 7/7 (100) | 0.56 |
| HCQ dose, mg/kg | 3.5 (3, 4) | 6 (5.5, 6) | 0.07 |
Continuous data are presented as median (25th, 75th percentile) and compared with Mann-Whitney U test. Categorical data are given as n/n (%) and compared with χ2 test.
P values lower than 0.05 are given in bold.
anti-SS-A, anti-Sjögren’s syndrome-related antigen A; anti-SS-B, anti-Sjögren’s syndrome-related antigen B; AZA, azathioprine; cSLE, childhood-onset SLE; dsDNA, double-stranded DNA; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate; HCQ, hydroxychloroquine; IGRA, interferon gamma release assay; MMF, mycophenolate mofetil; S, sampling time; SLEDAI-2K, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index 2000; V, vaccination time.