Assessment measures in systemic lupus erythematosus

Abstract

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic inflammatory, multisystem, autoimmune and multifactorial disease, whose diagnosis is based on clinical and laboratorial parameters. This study aimed at investigating assessing measures in SLE available in the literature by using the method of integrative review of the literature. The bibliographic research was conducted through the search for scientific articles indexed in general health sciences databases, such as the Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences (LILACS), MEDLINE/PubMed, and Scientific Electronic Library Online (SCIELO). The following descriptors were used: "assessment and lupus"; "quality of life and lupus"; "damage and lupus"; "activity index and lupus"; and "patient outcomes and lupus". The selected publications showed three domains of SLE assessment: assessing measures of disease activity; assessing measures of damage caused by the disease; and assessing measures of quality of life. The study showed that the patients' perception of health status and quality of life and the impact of the disease and its treatment can be better evaluated using the measures proposed by the authors.