Newer Lupus Classification Criteria Outperform Older Criteria

Diagnosing lupus can be challenging because the disease presents so differently from one person to the next. For that reason, multiple classification systems exist today to help researchers and healthcare professionals identify lupus, each using slightly different rules or criteria. Now, new research demonstrates that some of the most recently developed classification systems are outperforming older systems when it comes to accurately identifying lupus cases.

Researchers compared the performance of three distinct lupus classification systems:

• American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 1997 criteria
• Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC) 2012 criteria
• European League Against Rheumatism/American College of Rheumatology (EULAR/ACR) 2019 criteria

EULAR/ACR criteria was better at correctly identifying lupus cases compared to the ACR 1997 criteria and comparable in performance to the SLICC criteria. However, when only people who tested positive for antinuclear antibodies (ANA-positive) were included in the analysis, the EULAR/ACR set of criteria detected more false positive lupus cases.

Lupus research and diagnosis has come a long way in recent decades, and as more information becomes available, researchers continue to evaluate lupus classification methods and refine its diagnostic criteria. Learn more about diagnosing lupus.

Read the study