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Non-pharmacologic therapies for systemic lupus erythematosus
M Fangtham1, S Kasturi2, R R Bannuru3
11 Division of Rheumatology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA.
Lupus
|April 10, 2019
Summary
Non-pharmacologic therapies like exercise and psychological interventions show promise for improving fatigue, pain, and quality of life in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. However, these therapies did not demonstrate an impact on disease activity.
Area of Science:
- Rheumatology
- Integrative Medicine
- Patient-Reported Outcomes
Background:
- Non-pharmacologic therapies are considered potentially beneficial for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) management.
- An updated review was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of these therapies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the effects of non-pharmacologic therapies on patients with SLE.
- To inform clinical practice regarding the use of non-pharmacologic interventions for SLE.
Main Methods:
- A comprehensive literature search was performed across multiple databases up to August 2018.
- Included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of non-pharmacologic therapies in SLE patients (sample size ≥10).
- Studies were synthesized based on patient-reported outcomes and disease activity; meta-analysis was not feasible due to heterogeneity.
Main Results:
- Fifteen RCTs with 846 participants were included, focusing on exercise, psychological interventions, and electro-acupuncture.
- Non-pharmacologic interventions showed significant improvements in fatigue (3/6 studies), anxiety/depression (3/8 studies), and pain (1/1 study).
- Seven of 11 studies reported improved quality of life, but no studies showed improvement in SLE disease activity.
Conclusions:
- Physical exercise and psychological interventions show promise as adjuncts to traditional SLE therapy.
- These interventions may improve fatigue, depression, pain, and quality of life in SLE patients.
- Further high-quality RCTs with longer follow-up are needed to confirm these findings.
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