Systemic Lupus Erythematosus NR 503: Week 6

: Systemic Lupus Erythematosus 1 Sometimes just looking at a patient, the provider has a difficult time knowing what is wrong with the patient. In this paper we are going to discuss the disease known as systemic lupus erythematosus, or SLE. This disease is one that attacks its patients’ body and is not always easily diagnosed. The patient is often more fatigued, running fevers and has a rash appear that they are unfamiliar with. This disease will be discussed at length and will look at the incidence, prevalence and statistics as well as the signs, symptoms and other background information about the disease. Background Systemic lupus erythematosus, also known as SLE or lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease that can damage any part of a person’s body such as skin, joints, and organs (Lupus Foundation of America, 2014). A person with Lupus has symptoms of severe arthritis with pain and swelling in the joints and are often placed on steroids and immune system suppressants such as methotrexate are often used as part of the treatment. This is because the immune system of a patient with lupus is overactive. Lupus is a chronic disease and has no cure, but the symptoms can be managed with medical treatment. Patients can also use antimalarial drugs to help prevent the disease from having flare-ups. Lupus causes a patient to be more sensitive to sunlight or UV rays and can cause their disease to flare-up. It is important that they get plenty of rest, exercise regularly, limit alcohol use and eat a healthy diet, as these will help improve their immune system function. A person living with lupus must learn self-management skills and learn how to manage their disease so that they are not feeling sick all the time. Each person with SLE will have different treatments depending on their system involvement and symptoms. The prevalence of SLE in the United States have ranged from 1.8 to 23.2 cases per 100,000 per year (Ferucci, 2014). Studies have shown that the disease is highest in Afro-Americans then Asians and Running Head: Systemic Lupus Erythematosus 2 followed by Caucasians. This disease seems to affect more women that are at their child-bearing age. The table below shows some of the prevalence of SLE by age, sex and region. There was no data found for the state of Illinois.