The use of the British Isles Lupus Assessment Group (BILAG) index as a valid tool in assessing disease activity in childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus

Objectives. The British Isles Lupus Assessment Group (BILAG) index is a standardized systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) disease activity assessment. The main aim of this study was to correlate the BILAG index with laboratory measures of disease activity in childhood-onset SLE with and without biopsy-proven lupus nephritis. Method. Prospective observational comparison study of the BILAG index in 21 SLE patients under 18 yr of age over a 12-month period in a tertiary referral paediatric outpatient clinic. Results. Eleven patients with lupus non-nephritis and 10 patients with lupus nephritis were reviewed. The lupus nephritis patients had significantly (P