PEDIATRICS Vol. 42 No. 1 July 1968, pp. 3-4
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SYSTEMIC LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS

Ralph J. Wedgwood M.D.1

1 Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington 98105

It has been commonly held that systemic lupus erythematosus ( S.L.E. ) in childhood is a generally progressive disease terminating fatally. Once a definite diagnosis was made, the physician and the family prepared themselves for the death of the child within, at the best, a few years. This is no longer necessarily true. The description of the "L.E." cell phenomenon, increased diagnostic awareness, and perhaps an increase in the numbers of such patients have led to the inclusion under this diagnosis of a larger and more diverse spectrum of disease than in former years. The introduction of the use of antibiotics, corticosteroids, and, more recently, antimetaholites in the treatment of the disease appears to have further modified the expression and the course of the illness as it appears in children and adults.