Diagnostic Criteria

The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) has attempted to defined and refined a diagnostic criteria for SLE.

If a patient shows at least 4 or more of these 11 criteria there is a likelihood SLE.

1. Malar Rash,
2.  Discoid Rash,
3. Photosensitivity,
4. Oral Ulcers,
5. Arthritis,
6. Serositis (Inflammation or harding of tissues of the body such as the lungs (pleura), heart (pericardium), and the inner lining of the abdomen (peritoneum) and organs.) ,
7. Renal (kidney) Disorder
8.  Neurological (nervous system) Disorder,
9. Hematologic (a blood and blood forming tissues) Disorder,
10. Immunologic (immune process) Disorder,
11. Abnormal ANA titer. *

Having four or more of these symptoms does NOT mean that you must have lupus!

Lupus is a very hard disease to diagnose and often takes a long time to appear conclusively.