E-Book

E-Book 3rd Congress

  • A systematic review on laboratory criteria for diagnosis of SLE
  • Sayyid Ali Hosseini,1,*


  • Introduction: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation and damage in various parts of the body, including the skin, joints, kidneys, brain, and heart. The exact prevalence of classic systemic lupus (SLE) in Iran is not known, but some studies have shown that its prevalence is almost similar to the global average in Iran. That is, about 50 to 70 per 100,000 people per year, including young and vulnerable women. SLE can lead to serious complications such as kidney injury, brain damage, heart failure, and so on, so the importance of early diagnosis and appropriate therapeutic intervention in this disease is very high. Given the importance of this topic, in this study, were examined the latest diagnostic methods and tests for SLE.
  • Methods: In this systematic review, it was conducted based on the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta Analyzes) protocol. To search for articles, PubMed and Scopus databases were used until Setember2023. Articles that included detailed information about clinical and laboratory criteria for clinical diagnosis of SLE also met the inclusion criteria.
  • Results: The diagnosis of SLE is made through a combination of clinical signs, blood tests, and diagnostic tests. In general, the usual tests to diagnose SLE (systemic lupus erythematosus) include: ANA (Antinuclear Antibodies) test: This test checks if there are antibodies against the nuclear structures of cells in your body. ANA is usually positive in more than 90% of people with SLE, but positive results of this test can also be seen in other diseases. Immunofluorescence Assays: These tests check if antibodies are attached to specific structures in cells. These tests can be useful in the diagnosis and investigation of SLE. Anti dsDNA test: This test checks if there are antibodies against dsDNA in your body. This test is usually positive in active cases of SLE. Acceleration rate test (ESR): This test is a measure to determine the acceleration rate of red blood cells in the test tube. An increase in ESR is usually seen in patients with SLE and indicates the presence of inflammation in the body. Complement Test: This test examines whether the level of complement (a series of proteins important to the immune system) is a reaction to normal inflammation and immunity. Decreased complement levels are commonly seen in patients with SLE. In addition, newer tests such as immune system efficiency tests, genetic tests, and molecular tests such as Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) are also being developed and used to diagnose SLE.
  • Conclusion: The anti-nuclear antibody (ANA) test has a high sensitivity for diagnosing SLE, meaning that in most cases, if a person has SLE, this test will be positive. However, it should be noted that this test may also be positive in healthy individuals. This means that it has a high false positive rate, so that when the test is positive, the person being tested may not have any signs of SLE. Therefore, anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA) alone cannot help diagnose SLE and require other tests and clinical evaluation by a doctor. For example, information that needs to be obtained includes clinical signs and symptoms, medical history, blood tests such as inflammation and anti-double stranded DNA (anti-dsDNA) tests, histology, and other tests. Of course, with the passage of time and the progress of science, we hope that more suitable and better ways and methods will be found to diagnose and treat SLE.
  • Keywords: SLE, ANA, Anti dsDNA, ESR