New Research Yields Consensus on 25 Adverse Events People with Lupus Can Avoid through Ambulatory Care
Top lupus experts have identified 25 lupus-specific conditions that can potentially be prevented or their complications significantly reduced by high-quality and timely ambulatory (or outpatient) care. The conditions fell into four classes: vaccine-preventable illnesses (6 conditions), medication-associated complications (8 conditions), reproductive health-associated complications (6), and lupus-associated complications (5). From eight subspecialties, a panel of 16 field experts selected these conditions through a review of the research literature to date and preliminary interviews followed by multiple rounds of surveys with structured feedback and dialogue to arrive at the above consensus.
For each condition, panelists were also asked to rate both the potential preventability of each condition as well as the importance on a population level. Panelists were also instructed to consider the population prevalence of the potential condition and how closely tied it is to the quality of rheumatologic care. The broad range of selected conditions reflects the heterogeneity of the disease and the heightened vulnerability of people with lupus to certain conditions.
Study author, Candace Feldman, MP, MPH, ScD and member of the Lupus Foundation of American Medical-Scientific Advisory Council, notes that patients can talk to their rheumatologists about these conditions to make sure that they are able to access any applicable prevention methods or monitoring strategies to help, when possible, to minimize avoidable adverse outcomes.
These findings underscore potential opportunities to study these conditions on the health system level to improve allocation of resources and quality of outpatient care to decrease avoidable complications overall and particularly for those at highest risk.
Learn about handling the unpredictability of lupus.