[Diagnostic problems and evaluation of disease activity in systemic lupus erythematosus]

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic multisystem inflammatory disorder characterised by autoantibodies production. The diagnosis of disease requires evidence of 4 out of 11 clinical and/or laboratory symptoms proposed by American College of Rheumatology. For many years attention has been drawn to the problem of finding a valid and sensitive tool for measuring SLE activity and more than 60 different methods have been proposed. Unfortunately none of them has been generally accepted. Amongst the most frequently used are SLEDAI scale and its modifications, BILAG and SLAM. The systems have been validated in prospective studies, and their reproducibility, validity and sensitivity have been compared. At present they are widely used in clinical practice. In this review currently accepted methods of SLE activity evaluation are presented.