Complete Lupus Study Guide (PLUS CRITICAL THINKING TIPS!) | Must Know Info For Nursing School

Let's walk through a study guide for lupus and the key things to know about it for nursing school. Now, lupus is an autoimmune disorder. This is an immune response where the body's immune system is actually attacking healthy body tissues, causing an uncontrolled inflammatory response. It's systemic, it's all through the body. So the signs and symptoms will really vary depending on where specifically in the body the immune system is targeting. But you might see a butterfly rash. That's a very common. It's a hallmark sign of lupus. It's also called a malar rash, and the NCLEX loves to test on them. Edema and stiffness of the joints. If there's inflammation in the joints, unexplained fatigue or a fever, just because that inflammatory response is elevated, then decreased red blood cells and white blood cells, because again, that immune response is in hyperdrive. Then for your assessment, you want to assess all those things. Joint mobility, obviously signs of infection, skin assessment and pain assessment, because this can be a very painful condition.