Analyzing Inpatient Vaccine Reactions Amongst Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Patients in the COVID-19 Era: A National Analysis

Main Article Content

Amar D. Desai
Jennifer E. Yeh

Keywords

SLE, vaccine, COVID-19, adverse drug event, inpatient dermatology

Abstract

Introduction: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patient hospitalizations were areas of concern during the coronavirus of 2019 (COVID-19) and subsequent vaccine rollout. We aimed to characterize hospitalization trends nationally amongst SLE patients following COVID-19 vaccine rollout.


Methods: The 2016-2020 Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) was queried for SLE hospitalizations using International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) code “M32”. SLE hospitalizations with co-morbid vaccine reactions (RX+) were identified using ICD-10 codes “T50.x”. Clinical and demographic features and rates of high-risk underlying co-morbidities were compared.


Results: Among total SLE hospitalizations, 1.4% were RX+ between 2016-2020. RX+ patient hospitalizations increased from 2019-2020. RX+ patients exhibited a significantly higher burden of heart disease, chronic kidney disease (CKD), chronic liver or lung disease, HIV, and obesity.


Discussion: Our findings suggest that RX+ SLE patients are slightly older, and have significantly greater proportions of comorbid conditions, namely heart disease, CKD, and diabetes compared to RX- SLE patients. Increased SLE severity may impart an inflammatory burden on patients not explained by immunosuppression alone, making them more susceptible to factors with shared pathogenic risks like vaccine reactions.

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