Diagnosing Lupus (SLE)

The American College of Rheumatology have developed criteria for diagnosing lupus - just as they have for diagnosing fibromyalgia. They are as follows:

	Criteria	Definition
1	Malar rash	Fixed erythema over cheeks but sparing nose-cheek folds
2	Discoid rash	Raised red patches with scarring in older lesions
3	Photosensitivity	Skin rash as a result of unusual reaction to sunlight
4	Mouth ulcers	Oral or nasal ulcers - must be observed by a physician
5	Arthritis	Tenderness and swelling in at least 2 joints observed by a physician
6	Serositis	Either: 1. Pleurisy on examination by a physician or Xray changes or 2. Pericarditis noted by a physician or ECG changes
7	Kidney disease	1. Persistent protein in the urine of 0.5 grams or more or 2. Cellular casts (maybe red cells, white cells or hemoglobin)
8	Blood disease	One of the 4 following: Hemolytic anemia with reticulocytosis Leukopenia with a white cell count of less than 4,000/mm² Lymphopenia with a lymphocyte count of less than 1,500/mm² Thrombocytopenia with a platelet count of less that 100,000/mm²
9	Brain disease	Either: 1. Psychosis or 2. Seizures. Both must be without other causes
10	Positive ANA	An abnormal titer of an anti-nuclear antibody (ANA) test in the absence of other diseases or drugs known to cause a positive ANA.
11	Other antibodies	Any one of these 4 tests: A positive LE cell preparation A positive test for anti-DNA antibodies A positive test for the Sm nuclear antigen A false positive for syphilis

To have a definite diagnosis of lupus you must have 4 or more of the above features:

Also see: What is an ANA ?