Lupus
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Background Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) may form clusters with clinical manifestations and autoantibodies. Objective The objective of this report is to study whether SLE patients with positive rheumatoid factor (RF) have a special clinical and/or serological profile. Methods A retrospective study of 467 SLE patients seen at a single rheumatology unit was conducted. ⋯ In univariate analysis, RF was positively associated with butterfly rash ( p = 0.04), anti-Ro ( p = 0.03), anti-Sm antibodies ( p = 0.01) and hypothyroidism ( p = 0.01) and negatively associated with glomerulonephritis ( p = 0.003). Logistic regression showed that only glomerulonephritis ( p = 0.03; OR = 0.45; 95% CI = 0.21-0.93) and anti-Ro ( p = 0.009; OR = 2.3; 95% CI = 1.24-4.57) were independent associations. Conclusion In our sample RF was associated with protection from glomerulonephritis and with higher prevalence of anti-Ro antibodies.