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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Ibnosina Journal of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences 2020; 12(03): 195-199
DOI: 10.4103/ijmbs.ijmbs_69_20
Original Article

Clinical presentations of Sjogren's syndrome in Benghazi, Libya

Abdelnasir Ahmed
1   Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Benghazi, Benghazi, Libya
,
Salem Ibkhatra
1   Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Benghazi, Benghazi, Libya
,
Fathi Elbraki
1   Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Benghazi, Benghazi, Libya
,
Hamdi Ehsouna
1   Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Benghazi, Benghazi, Libya
,
Khaled Alsaeiti
2   Department of Internal Medicine, Aljomhorya Hospital, Benghazi, Libya
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Background: We aimed to characterize the clinical presentation of primary and secondary Sjögren's syndrome (SS) among patients in Benghazi, Libya. Patients and Methods: Sixty consecutive patients (55 females and 5 males) diagnosed with SS according to 2016 European–American consensus criteria were studied. Patients with chronic hepatitis C virus, human immunodeficiency virus infection, and previous lymphoproliferative processes were excluded. Results: The mean age at the time of diagnosis was 41.9 ± 9.9 years (25–56 years). Seventeen patients (28.3%) had primary SS (pSS). At diagnosis, commonly reported symptoms included dry mouth (52; 86.7%), dry eyes (55; 91.7%), dental caries (25; 41.7%), and oral candidiasis (20; 33.3%). Schirmer's test was positive in seven patients (11.7%). The most common extraglandular manifestations were arthralgia and arthritis (49; 81.7%), Raynaud's phenomenon (23; 38.3%), and interstitial lung disease (9; 15%). Both pSS and secondary SS (sSS) were associated with lymphocytosis. Abnormal thyroid disease was reported in 14 (23.3%). sSS was mostly associated with rheumatoid arthritis 28 (46.7%), followed by systemic lupus erythematosus 11 (18.3%). Fifty-three patients (88.3%) had positive rheumatoid factor (RF) and 18 patients (30%) had positive antinuclear antibodies (ANAs). RF was strongly associated with sSS and Sicca symptoms with P = 0.004 and 0.001, respectively, while ANA positivity was strongly associated with pSS and extraglandular manifestations (P = 0.001 and P = 0.003, respectively). Conclusions: This is the first series of SS from Libya. It should help understanding the characteristics and associations that should help understand the global picture.

Key-words:

Antinuclear antibodies - autoimmune disease - rheumatoid arthritis - Sjögren's syndrome - systemic lupus erythematosus

Financial support and sponsorship

Nil.




Publication History

Received: 07 June 2020

Accepted: 20 August 2020

Article published online:
14 July 2022

© 2020. The Libyan Authority of Scientific Research and Technologyand the Libyan Biotechnology Research Center. All rights reserved. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License,permitting copying and reproductionso long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, oradapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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