P-22 An Investigation into the common Demographic, Clinical and Immunological Features of patients diagnosed with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus at Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation

Methods: This study was a quantitative, retrospective study which surveyed charts of lupus patients from 2005 to 2020 at the Rheumatology clinic, GPHC. All SLE patients enrolled at GPHC during this time >18 yrs were included. 23 patients met the inclusion criteria and were studied. All data were analyzed using SPSS v 26.

Results: The mean age of SLE patients was 30.3±8.1 years, of which 43.47% were 18-28 years old, 39.13% were 29-39 years and 17.39% >= 40 years old. Women (95.65%) accounted for most cases. Indo-Guyanese accounted for 47.8% of cases and both Afro-Guyanese and mixed ethnicity accounting for 26.1%. The most common clinical feature was cutaneous manifestations (91.3%) followed by Arthritis (65.21%). Renal (52.17%), Serositis (47.82%), constitutional (43.47%), hematological (30.43%) and neurological (13.04%) manifestations were seen. All SLE patients had positive ANA, 39.13% also had positive Anti-dsDNA.

Conclusion: This study found that younger females of Indo-Guyanese heritage are most frequently diagnosed with SLE. The results also showed both pathognomonic and rare symptoms are among the clinical manifestations observed. Moreover, incidental findings suggest that there may be the presence of ANA-negative SLE among cases in Guyana; and require further immunological testing to follow up. These findings will suggest the need for more research on SLE and implementation of a robust recording and follow up system for patients with SLE at GPHC medical clinic.