Patients with lupus who continue on hydroxychloroquine maintenance rather than tapering or quitting the medication have substantially lower risk of disease flares, researchers say.

Their real-world study, which is the first to demonstrate such a relationship in incident SLE, also suggests that prior prednisone use ups the likelihood of flares.

Although hydroxychloroquine maintenance was still associated with some flares, the findings will likely better inform decision-making when it comes to reducing treatment, the Canadian-led team said.

Using a longitudinal international cohort, clinicians led by the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, analysed data from 1460 adults (mean age range 34-36 years) with lupus who had initiated the disease-modifying antirheumatic drug within the previous 15 months.