Lupus psychosis is a rare, potentially devastating, but treatable manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) that is associated with certain patient characteristics, analysis of data from a large inception cohort found.

Among 1,826 patients with SLE enrolled in the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC) network and followed for a mean of 7.4 years, 28 patients experienced 31 psychotic events (1.53%), according to John G. Hanly, MD, of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and colleagues.

"Our findings confirm and expand upon the results of previous cross-sectional and historical studies of psychosis in SLE," Hanly and colleagues observed. "The outcome of lupus psychosis, as determined by both physicians and patients, was positive and emphasizes the importance of diagnosing and treating this rare manifestation of neuropsychiatric SLE."

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