The opportunity and imperative for point-of-care diagnostics in systemic lupus erythematosus

Excerpt

The development of point-of-care diagnostics (POCD) is prompted by the global burden of diseases attended by high morbidity and mortality when the diagnosis is delayed. POCD are designed to bring diagnostic tests immediately accessible to the site of patient care. In general terms, these devices are simple to use, economical, have high specificity and have a short turnaround time, enabling rapid clinical decisions. Contemporary POCD devices target blood glucose, coagulation, cardiac markers, infectious diseases, pregnancy and cholesterol testing. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a suitable target for POCD because it can present with a variety of rapid-onset and life-threatening features, and is characterized by a number of well-defined disease-specific biomarkers. Clinical scenarios where POCD would benefit the management of SLE include CNS lupus (psychosis, encephalitis, stroke, seizures), transverse myelitis, acute renal failure, pulmonary hemorrhage and pneumonitis, cytopenias (thrombocytopenia, anemia, neutropenia, leukopenia), catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome, cardiac tamponade and infarction, fetal heart block, mesenteric vasculitis and pancreatitis. …