The British Society for Rheumatology guideline for the management of systemic lupus erythematosus in adults

Scope and purpose of the guidelineBackground SLE (or lupus for short) is a multisystem, autoimmune disease, involving complex pathogenetic mechanisms that can present at any age.It most commonly presents in women in the reproductive age group, although lupus is increasingly recognized after the age of 40 years, particularly in Europeans [13].Lupus affected nearly 1 in 1000 of the population in the UK in 2012 [4] and was NICE has accredited the process used by the BSR to produce its guidance on the management of systemic lupus erythematosus in adults.