Mortality in systemic lupus erythematosus: a 10-year review.

During the years 1963-72 33 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (S.L.E.) died. Of these 30 case records were available for analysis. For the same period 167 patients with S.L.E. were admitted. It was ascertained that of the 30 deaths 22 were directly attributable to the disease itself and 8 were related to complications of therapy. The three commonest causes of death were neurological involvement (11 patients), renal failure (9 patients), and infection (8 patients).