The clinicopathological presentation of connective;-tissue diseases at kenyatta national hospital.:a prospective study: 1985 - 1986

Abstract

In a prospective study of Connective Tissue Diseases presenting at Kenyatta National Hospital within a period of one year (lgS5 - 1986), there were 20 patients seen with systemic lupus erythe- matosus, 10 ~ith systemic sclerosis 3 with morphea and 3 with Dermatomyositis and 11 with Discoid Lupus. Their clinical presentation did not differ , from that described elsewhere. Antinuclear anti-

bodies were found in 100% of systemic lupus ery- thematosus patients, 23.1% of scleroderma, 16.6% of Rheumatoid arthritis, 1 patient with Dermato- myositis and in 3.5% of the controls but not in the Discoid lupus patients. Serum complement levels, immune complexes and immunoglobulins were also found to be abnormal in some of the patients and where they were abnormal they were found to , correlate well with disease activity and in some

cases to be,of a predictive value in the course of the disease.