Nurse Nikki knows that laboratory results supports the diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is:
A. Elevated serum complement level
B. Thrombocytosis, elevated sedimentation rate
C. Pancytopenia, elevated antinuclear antibody (ANA) titer
D. Leukocytosis, elevated blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine levels
Correct Answer: C. Pancytopenia, elevated antinuclear antibody (ANA) titer
Laboratory findings for clients with SLE usually show pancytopenia, elevated ANA titer, and decreased serum complement levels.
Option A: Decreased levels of serum complement is usually associated with SLE. The cause of complement activation in SLE is the formation of immune complexes, which in turn activate complement, predominantly by means of the classical pathway.
Option B: Thrombocytopenia is one of the components of pancytopenia. It is a condition in which the platelet count is decreased.
Option D: Clients may have elevated BUN and creatinine levels from nephritis, but the increase does not indicate SLE. The part of the kidney most frequently troubled by SLE is part of the nephron called the glomerulus, a tuft of capillaries that functions to filter substances from the blood. For this reason, the type of kidney inflammation most commonly experienced in lupus is glomerulonephritis.