Table of Contents
- Overview
- Symptoms
- Treatment
- Prevention
- Images
Expectations (prognosis)
The outcome for people with SLE has improved in recent years. Many people with SLE have mild illness. Women with SLE who become pregnant are often able to carry safely to term and deliver a normal infant, as long as they do not have severe kidney or heart disease and the SLE is being treated appropriately.
The presence of antiphospholipid antibodies may increase the possibility of pregnancy loss.
The 10-year survival rate for lupus patients is greater than 85%. People with severe involvement of the brain, lungs, heart, and kidney do worse than others in terms of overall survival and disability.
Complications
Some people with SLE have deposits of antibodies in the cells (glomeruli) of the kidneys. This leads to a condition called
SLE causes damage to many different parts of the body, including:
- Blood clots in the legs (
deep vein thrombosis ) or lungs (pulmonary embolism ) - Destruction of red blood cells (hemolytic anemia) or
anemia of chronic disease - Fluid around the heart (
pericarditis ),endocarditis , or inflammation of the heart (myocarditis ) - Fluid around the lungs (
pleural effusions ), damage to the lung tissue (interstitial lung disease) - Pregnancy complications, including miscarriage and flare-up of SLA during pregnancy
- Stroke
- Severely low blood platelets (
thrombocytopenia ) - Vasculitis, which may damage arteries anywhere in the body
Calling your health care provider
Call your health care provider if you develop symptoms of SLE. Also, call if you have SLE and symptoms get worse or if new symptoms develop.
Images
Review Date: 02/07/2010
Reviewed By: Mark James Borigini, MD, Rheumatologist in the Washington, DC Metro
area. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed
by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)
