Essay Sample on Systemic Lupus Erythematous

Introduction

Systemic Lupus Erythematous (SLE) develops because of the autoantibodies production and the immune system hyperactivity causes several symptoms like; Fatigue, morning stiffness, arthralgia, chronic pain, as well as damaging of the vital organs like the central nervous system (CNS), liver and the kidney (Isenberg et al., 2015). That makes the disease be referred as prototypical autoimmune systemic illness. The condition has other signs which are lung inflammation, heart inflammation, malar rash, mouth sores, discoid rash, psychosis, and seizures. Fibromyalgia (FM) has different symptoms, however, but it is a common syndrome. The disease has symptoms which are: muscle aches, chronic fatigue, anxiety, decreased wit, sleep problems, anxiety, chronic headaches, muscle stiffness, depression, and reduced memory (Torrente-Segarra et al., 2016).

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The two diseases are diagnosed differently. SLE diagnosis is based on laboratory findings and clinical manifestations. Sometimes it is hard to differentiate and identify SLE from fibromyalgia since fibromyalgia prevails in 10 folds more than that of SLE. SLE is a systemic inflammatory illness while fibromyalgia is non-inflammatory (Katz, Pedro & Michaud, 2017). Majority of clinicians refer to the ANA testing when identifying SLE but it false positives among other limitations. The "cell-bound complement activation products" can be used to enhance this process and initiate a better progression of treatment (Katz et al., 2017).

Moreover, it is essential for nurses to have a good understanding of the illnesses to give the patients the most suitable advice and support regarding how to live active lives and maintain wellbeing. When educating the patients, nurses should ensure they understand the pathologic process of fibromyalgia and SLE with aspects such as treatment, management, diagnosis, and manifestations (O'Riordan, Doran & Connolly, 2017). If the terms are too complicated for the patients, the nurses should use more straightforward language. They should stress the importance of following-up appointments and medication concerning SLE illness. Patients should understand if they are more prone to SLE infection and how they can reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

References

Isenberg, D., Gordon, C., Licu, D., Copt, S., Rossi, C. P., & Wofsy, D. (2015). Efficacy and safety of atacicept for prevention of flares in patients with moderate-to-severe systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE): 52-week data (APRIL-SLE randomised trial). Annals of the rheumatic diseases, 74(11), 2006-2015.

Katz, P., Pedro, S., & Michaud, K. (2017). Performance of the PatientReported Outcomes Measurement Information System 29

Item Profile in Rheumatoid Arthritis, Osteoarthritis, Fibromyalgia, and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. Arthritis care & research, 69(9), 1312-1321.

O'Riordan, R., Doran, M., & Connolly, D. (2017). Fatigue and activity management education for individuals with systemic lupus erythematosus. Occupational therapy international, 2017.

Torrente-Segarra, V., Salman-Monte, T. C., Rua-Figueroa, I., Perez-Vicente, S., Lopez-Longo, F. J., Galindo-Izquierdo, M., ... & Sanchez-Atrio, A. (2016). Fibromyalgia prevalence and related factors in a large registry of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Clinical and experimental rheumatology, 34(2 Suppl 96), S40-7.