Incomplete lupus, undifferentiated connective tissue disease, and mixed connective tissue disease

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

Abstract

A significant number of patients who present for rheumatologic evaluation with concerns about having systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) do not satisfy the classification criteria for this disease. Widespread use of antinuclear antibody testing has in part contributed to this phenomenon. Although antinuclear antibody positivity alone is not necessarily a pathologic condition and is present in many healthy individuals, concomitant expression of other clinical or immunologic findings heightens concerns. These manifestations might include skin or joint abnormalities and autoantibodies that are more specific for SLE or other diseases. Some of these patients may be classifiable with another disorder, whereas others may have overlap syndromes with features of two distinct conditions. Still, many do not fit any classifiable condition and have undifferentiated connective tissue disease (UCTD) or subsets of this designation, such as latent or incomplete lupus erythematosus. Despite the many years that have elapsed since terms such as UCTD and incomplete lupus erythematosus were first used, significant uncertainty in diagnosis and prognosis remains. This chapter will consider both the unclassifiable syndromes of UCTD and incomplete lupus erythematosus and mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD), for which classification criteria exist.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationDubois' Lupus Erythematosus and Related Syndromes
PublisherElsevier
Pages703-709
Number of pages7
ISBN (Electronic)9780323932325
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1 2024

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Medicine

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