REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, MALANG - A team of researchers from the University of Brawijaya, Prof. Dr. Kusworini Handono and her colleagues, have been developing a kit to diagnose lupus erythematosus systemicus (LES) through clinical test at an affordable cost.
"The kit is expected to reduce the cost of LES diagnosis, even to simplify the complexity in the clinical diagnosis of lupus that is experienced by doctors because of the lack of literature, Prof. Handono said, adding that the diagnosis procedure should meet international standards.
She explained that seven clinical criteria according to the international standards must be met before diagnosing someone with lupus. The lupus disease includes acute cutaneous lupus, chronic cutaneous lupus, kidney or neurological symptoms such as seizures, psychosis, or mononeuritis.
Prof. Handono noted that the background for developing the kit, in addition to the high cost of diagnosis, was because of the high rate of maternal mortality due to bleeding that was difficult to overcome because of LES.
According to data on Indonesia's Demographic and Health 2012, maternal mortality rate has reached 359 per 100,000 live births, or about 28 percent of the eight other factors, such as infection, abortion, and eclampsia. The figure is the highest among the ASEAN countries.
The professor explained that LES disease was due to an excessive immune reaction against cells or tissues. This imbalance causes damage to the immune and inflammatory systems. The fatal affect is bleeding during delivery, which is very difficult to overcome. We must be aware of the disease, so that it can be prevented as early as possible.
According to her, a reciprocal relationship exists between pregnancy and lupus. On the one hand, lupus increases the risk of pregnancy complications such as eclampsia and bleeding; on the other hand, pregnancy increases the risk of lupus patients.
Despite the disease playing a significant role in maternal mortality, the number of cases is still not precisely known. The cases must be considered carefully because the disease affects productive women.
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