Senior rheumatologists have promised measurable improvements in care from new guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of lupus published today.
Patients will get earlier diagnosis and more appropriate treatment, according to the British Society of Rheumatology.
The condition reduces lifespan on average by 25 years and affects nearly 0.1% of the British population. It has gained publicity yesterday after US teen star Selena Gomez revealed she had been diagnosed with the condition and had received a kidney transplant donated by a friend.
The new guidance sets out how to care for patients with the most common symptoms, such as skin rash and arthritis, as well as those with rare but serious complications such as kidney disease.
It sets out how to reduce steroid use and when to deploy second line treatments.
And it sets out when to refer patients with the most complex disease to specialist lupus centres.
Professor Caroline Gordon, who led the guideline development, said: “Once my colleagues in the UK implement this guideline, I would expect that patients will experience measurable improvements in care as a result of earlier diagnosis and more appropriate treatment.
“They can expect more rapid resolution of symptoms, reduction in disease flares and improvements in their quality of life, with fewer long term complications of the disease and its treatment – and, ultimately, improved survival.”
Dr Elizabeth MacPhie, who oversees the college’s guideline development programme, said: “Our guidelines are key to good care in rheumatological conditions. They firmly link the evidence base to clinical practice to help health professionals deliver the right care at the right time to the right patients – which might sound simple but can be a real challenge in a relapsing and remitting condition such as lupus.”
Patient Yvonne Norton said: “Since being diagnosed in 1975, I’ve spent what must amount to years in hospitals and I take a massive amount of medication. I can’t fault the doctors who’ve treated me but it would have been so much better and easier for them, and me, if there had been a guideline to show the right path for them to take.”
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