Prevalence and Pattern of Lupus Erythematosus Cell Positivity in Diseases in Ile-Ife, Nigeria

The prevalence and pattern of lupus erythematosus (LE) cell positivity in diseases in Ile-Ife, Osun state was carried out between January 1999 and June 2004 (5 ¹/₂ years). A total of 96 patients with different diseases were screened for LE cell using standard techniques. Of this number, 63 (65.6%) were females and 33 (34.4%) were males, their age ranges between 2 and 65 years (x 26.5 years). Twelve (12.5%) were positive for LE cell within the period. Forty five (46.9%) were screened between January 1999 and December 2002 (4 years), 4 (4.2%) were positive for LE cell. Fifty one (53.1%) were screened between January 2003 and June 2004 (1¹/₂ years), 8 (8.3%) were positive for LE cell. It was observed from the study that the LE cell positivity is on the increase due to increase number of requests especially from renal patients. LE cell positivity is also greater in females 7 (7.3%) than in males 5(5.2%) and occurs more in the second and third decades of life.