Evidence-Based Practice Nursing Interventions and Treatment for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Pain. Fatigue. Rashes. Depression. These are a few of the manifestations associated with systemic lupus erythematosus, an autoimmune disease that affects millions of people worldwide with eighty percent of them being women ages 15-45 (Tretheway, 2004). Systemic lupus erythematosus is a disease where the body literally attacks itself. For reasons that are not known, the body loses the ability to recognize cells or tissues as self and treats them as foreign, triggering a defensive immune response (Ignatavicius, 2010). SLE is a chronic and progressive disease that is complex, can lead to many complications and may be fatal. Proper treatment and addressing multiple manifestations as soon as they present can avoid further complications or damage to other body systems.
Levels of Care
Primary Care
As with any patient, appropriate measures to be taken to prevent systemic lupus erythematosus is the goal of primary health promotion. When considering primary measures it is important to educate the patient on multiple aspects that affect their life. Primary health promotion that would apply to anyone includes teaching about a healthy lifestyle, choosing nutritional food, safety measures when participating in certain activities, such as wearing a helmet when riding a bike or wearing sun block when exposed to the sun, and most importantly to advise and encourage the patient to have routine check-ups, regular exams and screenings along with receiving the appropriate immunizations. A more personalized approach for primary care would be the control or limitation to exposure of hazardous chemicals at work or at home, which leads to secon...
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...ioral Medicine, 35(1), 5-13. Retrieved November 2, 2011, from the CINAHL database
Ignatavicius, D.D. (2010). Medical-surgical nursing: Patient-centered collaborative care (6th Ed.). St. Louis, MO: Mosby Elsevier
Pagana. K. D., & Pagana. T. J. (2010). Mosby’s manual of diagnostic and laboratory tests (4th Ed.). St. Louis, MO: Mosby Elsevier
Tretheway, P. (2004). Systemic lupus erythematosus. Dimensions Of Critical Care Nursing, 23(3), 111-115. Retrieved November 2, 2011, from the CINAHL database
Vazquez, Y. R. (2011). Evidence-Based Practice Nursing Interventions for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus in Middle-Aged Women. Unpublished Research Paper, Central Arizona College, Coolidge, AZ.
Wheeler, T. (2010). Systemic lupus erythematosis: the basics of nursing care. British Journal of Nursing (BJN), 19(4), 249-253. Retrieved November 2, 2011, from the CINAHL database.
Hinkle, Janice L, Cheever, Kerry H. (2014). Brunner &Suddarth’s textbook of Medical-Surgical Nursing. Philadelphia: Wolters Kuwer/Lippincott Williams &Wilkins.
Ignatavicius, D. D., & Workman, M. L. (2013). Care of Intraoperative Patients. Medical-surgical nursing: patient-centered collaborative care (7th ed.). St. Louis: Elsevier.
Systemic lupus erythematosus is a progressive disease that has shown to produce organ damage within seven years of the diagnosis (Gill, Quisel, Rocca, & Walters, 2011). The survival rate has increased from 50% to 97 % since the 1950s (Gill et al., 2011). There is a 2.4-fold increase in death rate among patients with SLE compared to the general population and is due to an increase of infection, heart disease, renal failure, and lung cancer (“Systemic Lupus Erythematosus”, 2012). A ten year study showed that the most common cause of death among SLE patients were active disease and thrombosis at 25.6% and infection at 25% (Al-Homood, 2012).
Lupus comes in four different forms. They are Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Discoid(cutaneous), Drug-induced Lupus, and Neonatal Lupus. “Systemic lupus is typically the most common form of lupus and generally considered more serious than the other three forms”(www.lupusmn.org). Systemic lupus can also be called SLE(www.lupusmn.org). Symptoms tend to show among patients and c...
Ignatavicius, D. D., & Workman, M. L. (2013). Medical-surgical nursing: patient-centered collaborative care (7th ed.). St. Louis: Elsevier Saunders.
Point #1: “Lupus is a chronic (6 wks. -Years), autoimmune disease that occurs when your body’s immune system damages any part of your body such as the skin, joints, and organs.”
Lupus is a dangerous disease that can affect anyone. It has no cure and is known to affect 9 out of 10 adults. “Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), also called lupus, is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease characterized by unusual antibodies in the blood that target tissues of the body.” (Frazier & Drzymkowski, 2008) Autoimmune means that your immune system cannot tell the difference between foreign invaders and your body’s healthy tissues and creates autoantibodies that attack and destroy healthy tissue. These autoantibodies cause inflammation, pain, and damage in various parts of the body. Lupus affects each individual differently and it may be worse for one person than it is for another. My grandmother, Carolyn, was diagnosed with Systemic lupus erythematosus in her early forties. She suffered a long time before she was diagnosed with Lupus. “The worst part of my lupus is the flare-ups” Carolyn said, “It feels as if I am on fire sometimes and every single inch of my body hurts in the most awful way I have ev...
Lupus is a chronic disease that damages any part of the body. For example: skin, joints, and organs, are all problem areas for this disease. The cause of Lupus is unknown and could be very difficult to diagnose. It may take years to officially diagnose a patient of having the Lupus disease. Doctors examine your blood, skin, and kidneys to finalize the diagnosis. Symptoms last up to six weeks or longer.[1] These symptoms being pain or swelling in the the joints, fever, hair loss, feeling tired, redness in the face, etc. Lesser symptoms would be things such as dizziness, confusion, and seizures. Lupus is treated by a doctor's prescription, and a list of doctors who specialize in things such as kidney disease, blood disease, skin disease, etc.
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a fairly common disease identified as episodes of inflammation and damage to joints, tendons, and various organs. The most effected organs are the heart, lungs, brain, kidneys, blood vessels, and skin. Lupus affects each individual differently and the effects could be mild to severe depending on the individual. SLE is an autoimmune disease where the body’s immune system attacks the healthy cells and tissues in the body (Ohio State, 2009).
Lupus is a chronic inflammatory disease that occurs when the body's immune system attacks its tissues and organs. This is similar to “friendly fire” and can cause permanent scarring that in the end will damage the function of certain organs and systems in the body. There are five different types of Lupus; Discoid lupus erythematosus, Subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus, Drug-induced lupus, Neonatal lupus and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE). However, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) being the most common and typically being considered the most serious, this paper will discuss this type in detail. Systemic Lupus Erythematosus accounts for approximately 70 percent of all cases of lupus (Statistics on Lupus).
Ignatavicius, D.D. & Workman, M.L.(2010). Medical-Surgical Nursing: Patient-Centered Collaborative Care. (6th ed.). St. Philadelphia PA: Saunders Elsevier
Did it ever occur to you that one day you’ll wake up sick and never get better? Well, 60,000 Americans find themselves fighting an autoimmune disease referred as Lupus. There are different types of Lupus, the most common form of Lupus is called Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. (S.L.E) This kind of Lupus causes internal inflammation to organs, joints, and tissue. Also, another type of Lupus is Discoid Lupus Erythematosus. (D.L.E) develops as a rash on the skin after being exposed to sunlight or fluorescent light. (“What You Should Know about Lupus,”n.d)
In nearly 85% of patients with untreated SLE test positive of dsDNA. This finding shows that it is probable SLE even though it is not always present in every case, but because it is not seen positive with other connective tissue problems, it is associated with Lupus.
Ignatavicius, D. D. & Workman, M.L. (2010). Medical-surgical nursing: Patient-centered collaborative care. St. Louis, Missouri: Saunders Elsevier.
Davenport, Joan M., Stacy Estridge, and Dolores M. Zygmont. Medical-surgical nursing. 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008, 66-88.