THU0253 FATIGUE AND PAIN REMAIN PROMINENT AND IMPACTFUL IN PATIENTS WITH SYSTEMIC LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS (SLE): A CROSS-SECTIONAL SURVEY OF SLE PATIENTS IN THE UNITED STATES
Authors: J. Birt, M. Hadi, N. Sargalo, E. Brookes, P. Swinburn, L. Hanrahan, K. Tse, N. Bello Vega, K. Griffing, M. Silk, L. Delbecque, D. L. Kamen
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2020)

Background: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune inflammatory condition impacting multiple organ systems. 1,2 SLE affects approximately 1.5 million Americans, disproportionately females of reproductive age, and is more prevalent in non-Caucasian populations. 3 Fatigue and pain are some of the most prominent symptoms of SLE, contributing to the heavy disease burden and disruption to daily life. 4 This study aimed to further understand the burden of SLE. Lilly worked with the Lupus Foundation of America (LFA) and Evidera to develop the SLE-UPDATE (Understanding Preferences, Disease Activity and Treatment Expectations) survey. Objectives: To understand the patient-perceived symptom burden of SLE, in particular pain and fatigue, within the current landscape of therapeutic options. This study also focused on current treatment patterns in SLE patients. Methods: This was a cross-sectional, non-interventional, online survey study conducted in partnership with the LFA. English-speaking United States patients aged ≥18 years with a self-reported diagnosis of SLE completed the survey following online screening and informed consent. Descriptive data are presented by means (standard deviation [SD]) for continuous measures, and frequency (n, %) for dichotomous measures. Demographic, clinical, and patient-reported outcomes were collected including the FACIT-Fatigue (range 0-52, higher scores indicate less fatigue), Pain Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) (0 [none] to 10 [worst imaginable]), Worst Joint Pain NRS (0 [none] to 10 [worst imaginable]), and the LupusPRO, a validated, lupus-specific quality of life (QoL) instrument (range 0-100, higher scores indicate better QoL). Results: A total of 500 patients with SLE completed the survey. Patients were predominantly female (75%), white/Caucasian (76%), with a mean age of 42.6 years and mean disease duration of 11.1 years. Most patients with SLE rated their overall condition as either good (38%) or fair (31%), with 8% rating poor and 7% excellent. Current non-biologic prescription medication use included: antimalarials 42%, corticosteroids 33%, immunosuppressants 33%, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) 32%, other analgesics 15% and 10% were using tofacitinib. Biologic therapies were being used by only 19%, including intravenous (IV) Benlysta (37%), subcutaneous (SC) Benlysta (25%), rituximab (17%), and 22% were using other biologics. Fatigue was the most commonly reported symptom (69%), with 40% of patients ranking fatigue as their most bothersome SLE symptom. Forty eight percent of patients with current fatigue rated the severity as moderate and 33% as severe. The mean (SD) FACIT-Fatigue score was 22.9 (12.0). The next most commonly reported symptoms were joint stiffness (57%), sleep problems (55%), joint pain/swelling (53%), and muscle pain (52%). Sixty percent of patients reported experiencing pain all or most of the time over the past seven days. A total of 30% of patients with current joint pain/swelling rated it as severe, and 24% of patients with current joint stiffness rated it as severe. The mean scores for Worst pain NRS and Worst Joint Pain NRS were both 5.8 out of 10. The LupusPRO domains indicated by respondents as the most impacted by SLE were Emotional Health, Pain/Vitality, and Lupus Medications. Conclusion: Fatigue, followed by pain and joint stiffness, were the most common patient-reported symptoms contributing to the overall SLE disease burden. Further research could highlight the efforts required to address the inadequacies in treatment and management of pain and fatigue in this patient population. Disclosure of Interests: Julie Birt Shareholder of: Eli Lilly and Company, Employee of: Eli Lilly and Company, Monica Hadi: None declared, Nashmel Sargalo: None declared, Ella Brookes: None declared, Paul Swinburn: None declared, Leslie Hanrahan: None declared, Karin Tse: None declared, Natalia Bello Vega Shareholder of: Eli Lilly and Company, Employee of: Eli Lilly and Company, Kirstin Griffing Shareholder of: Eli Lilly and Company, Employee of: Eli Lilly and Company, Maria Silk Shareholder of: Eli Lilly and Company, Employee of: Eli Lilly and Company, Laure Delbecque Shareholder of: Eli Lilly and Company, Employee of: Eli Lilly and Company, Diane L Kamen Consultant of: Consulted on SLE survey development for Lilly and consulted on SLE trial protocol development for EMD Serono in 2019