Diagnosis Of Lupus
Lupus is a disease we all have heard of, but a lot of people do not actually know what lupus really is. There are 4 different kinds of lupus namely Systemic Lupus Erythematosus or SLE, Discoid Lupus, Drig-Induced Lupus and Neonatal Lupus. SLE is the kind of lupus that people know of, the one that is characterized by a lupus rash. Discoid lupus, like SLE, also has lupus rash as one of its symptoms but it is not as serious as SLE. Drug-induced Lupus is caused by the intake of some medications that can bring about a specific reaction to the immune system. Nenonatal Lupus is the transfer of the disease from a pregnant mother to her child. Each kind of lupus has some common symptoms, and some are significantly distinct from the other. But how is lupus diagnosed.
Symptoms of lupus vary from one person to another, and because these symptoms are more or less the same as the other diseases, giving a diagnosis of lupus is a tough challenge. Lupus rash for example may flare up at a particular time and may disappear after a few weeks or days, along with the other symptoms. Systemic Lupus Erythematosus or SLE, the most serious of all the four types, must be meticulously checked. The American College of Rheumatology established guidelines to help diagnose Systemic Lupus Erythematosus accurately. When a person is suspected of having lupus, medical professionals should conduct several tests to confirm whether the patient has lupus or not.
The guidelines made by the American College of Rheumatology is more like a checklist that would somehow help the doctors in the diagnosis of lupus. When a person has lupus rash on the face or on any part of the body, he is not to be considered as someone with lupus yet, as a lupus rash is just one of the symptoms. The American College of Rheumatology gave a list of a total of 11 symptoms that a lupus patient could possibly manifest. A manifestation of 4 out of 11 of these symptoms would be a confirmation that the patient indeed has lupus. These symptoms are the following.
- Serositis – this is an inflammation of the membranes around the heart and lungs
- Mucosal ulcers – these are sores found along the linings of the mouth and nose
- Arthritis – this is a pain, swelling or tenderness in two or more joints
- Photosensitivity – sensitivity to sunlight characterized by skin rashes
- Abnormalities in blood count – low white blood, red blood or platelet counts
- Kidney disorder – high protein count in the urine
- Malar rash – also known as butterfly rash or rash that appear on the bridge of the nose and spreads to the cheeks
- Discoid rash – red and scaly patches on the skin that can cause scars
- Neurologic disorder – manifestations of seizures
- Immunologic disorder – results on antibody tests appear to be positive
- Antinuclear antibody test – results of such test turn out to be positive
These symptoms would confirm that the patient has Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. However, tests have to be thoroughly conducted first before a patient will be given a diagnosis. Some of these tests are complete blood count or CBC to detect whether there is a significant fluctuation in the platelet, white and red blood counts. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate or ESR may also be conducted to check the rate of how red blood cells settle in tube at a given time. A faster than normal rate would indicate that the person has lupus. Also, a liver and kidney assessment can be conducted. The results of the assessment could tell whether such organs are working properly and if protein count in the urine is normal. A urinalysis will provide the results needed to find out about abnormalities in the protein levels or cells in the urine. A syphilis test may also be conducted to the patient to check if there are anti-phospholid bodies in the blood.
After such tests are conducted, the doctors would then determine if the patient has manifested at least four of the symptoms in the guidelines made by the American College of Rheumatology. If four or more symptoms are manifested, the patient should begin treatment. I have written an article on how to heal lupus be sure to read it!
