Introduction:

Systemic lupus erythematosus is an inflammatory, chronic, multisystemic disease, which is defined by its multiple clinical features and by the almost invariable presence of autoantibodies directed against one or more components of the cell nucleus.

Objective:

To characterize patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and to identify its possible relationship with subclinical atherosclerosis.

Methods:

A descriptive cross-sectional study of patients diagnosed with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, treated at the Rheumatology Center in Havana, was carried out during the period from October 2015 to October 2017. The sample was non-probabilistic and consisted of 50 patients. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used.

Results:

Of the total number of patients, 54.0% (n=27) had subclinical atherosclerosis. The traditional risk factors that showed association with the presence of plaque in patients with SLE were hypercholesterolemia, 70.4% (n=19) and hypertriglyceridemia 55.6% (n=15). A relationship was observed between the time of evolution, the presence of accumulated damage, renal compromise, CRP figures and accumulated dose of steroids, with the presence of subclinical atherosclerosis.

Conclusions:

A higher average age was found in patients with SLE and presence of plaque. The traditional risk factors that showed association with the presence of atherosclerotic plaque were hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia. An association was found between the time of evolution, the presence of accumulated damage, renal compromise, CRP figures and the accumulated dose of steroids, with the presence of plaque. In the study patients, the use of chloroquine was associated with the absence of subclinical atherosclerosis.

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