Autoimmune Diseases Consultation
Autoimmune diseases encompass a wide group of pathologies characterized by defects in the immune system that result in the loss of self-tolerance, leading to immune responses directed against tissues and organs of the body. Despite the rarity of each pathology, their global prevalence has been increasing, collectively achieving a significant impact on the lives of patients due to their chronic and mostly incurable course.
The skin is one of the most commonly affected organs in these diseases. Due to the often nonspecific clinical manifestations and laboratory abnormalities, clinical experience is essential for a timely recognition, making it particularly relevant to be evaluated and followed up by specialized clinicians in the field of autoimmunity. This maximizes the diagnostic approach, which may include an analytical study with the search for specific autoantibodies and the performance of tests such as periungual capillaroscopy or skin biopsy. Among other pathologies, the following are highlighted for their significant cutaneous involvement:
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Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
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Scleroderma/Morphea
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Dermatomyositis
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Sarcoidosis
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Behçet's Disease
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Vasculitis
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Pemphigus Vulgaris
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Bullous Pemphigoid
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Vitiligo
The following are some of the reasons that justify an evaluation in an Autoimmune Diseases Consultation:
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Cutaneous symptoms/signs, such as skin thickening, butterfly rash, purpura, erythema nodosum, among others
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Immunological abnormalities, such as positivity for antinuclear antibodies, anti-ENA, ANCA, anti-dsDNA, complement consumption, among others
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Protracted constitutional symptoms, with fever, weight loss, asthenia, and generalized malaise, with previous investigation ruling out infectious/neoplastic causes
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Recurrent oral and/or genital ulcers
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Raynaud's phenomenon (white fingers upon exposure to cold)
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Repetitive thrombotic events
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Muscular symptoms (muscle weakness without identified cause, elevation of muscle damage markers in laboratory studies)
