Research Ongoing

Towards Understanding the Use of Hydroxychloroquine in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Scientific Study Title:

Hydroxychloroquine in systemic lupus

Start Date:

April 2018

End Date:

March 2023

Research Category

Arthritis Care, Health Systems, Policies & Economics

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Why do this research?

Reason For Research

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a disease in which the immune system is overactive, causing inflammation in various organs including joints and skin. There are areas where better approaches in SLE could improve outcomes. One example relates to hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), a drug which can reduce the risk of serious disease flares. However, the main side effect of long-term use of HCQ is eye damage. At present, we cannot accurately predict which patients with SLE are most likely to have a flare of their SLE symptoms once we lower the dose of HCQ. Also, it is not clear what causes the risk of eye damage. Our study will fill these knowledge gaps and add information about patient preferences for HCQ use.

Methodology

Execution of Research

Our research will link and analyze data on 3,700 SLE patients across Canada to:

evaluate factors associated with a poor outcome among patients with SLE who lower but do not stop HCQ (poor outcome being a significant increase in disease activity, hospitalization for SLE symptoms or need for increased therapy).
determine factors associated with a poor outcome among patients with SLE who stop HCQ (poor outcome being a significant increase in disease activity, hospitalization for SLE symptoms or need for increased therapy).
evaluate the relationship between HCQ use and occurrence of eye damage (retinal toxicity) in patients with SLE, and if it is associated with population characteristics and clinical characteristics.
assess the preferences of patients with SLE for HCQ therapy and if preferences are associated with population characteristics and clinical factors. We will use interviews and a ‘discrete choice’ survey design.