Clinical ultrasound diagnosis
Systemic autoimmune diseasesThese are caused by an error in the immune system, which attacks the body's own cells, believing them to be foreign, and this attack extends to more than one organ, can be diagnosed quickly and accurately by means of clinical ultrasound.According to the conclusion of the 8th Meeting of the GEAS, Systemic Autoimmune Diseases Group, which was held in Madrid on 22-23 October 2015, by SEMI, the Spanish Society of Internal Medicine.
What is a clinical ultrasound?
Ultrasonography, also known as ultrasound, is a type of imaging that uses high-frequency sound waves to inspect organs and structures inside the body.. In the healthcare system, they are used to view the heart, blood vessels, kidneys, liver and other organs. During pregnancy, doctors use ultrasound tests to look at the foetus. Unlike x-rays, ultrasound does not expose you to radiation.
During the test, the patient lies on a table. A special technician or doctor applies a device called a transducer to a part of the body. The transducer sends out sound waves that bounce off the tissues inside the body. The transducer also captures the waves that bounce back. The ultrasound machine creates images of these sound waves.
The GEAS
GEAS is the Systemic Autoimmune Diseases Study Group and is part of SEMI, which is the Spanish Society of Internal Medicine.
The GEAS is therefore a group of physicians specialising in systemic autoimmune diseases (SADs): lupus, sjögren's, behçet's, systemic sclerosis and scleroderma, to name a few.
Consisting of some 700 members, this group is deepening the study of the autoimmune diseases to achieve a better quality of life for the patient.
Advantages of ultrasound
According to Lucio Pallarés, coordinator of the SEMI's Systemic Autoimmune Diseases Group, the advantages that ultrasound can bring to the field of SAD are the following more accurate diagnoses, so that the best treatments can be chosen.such as the therapeutic apheresisThe aim is to identify joint inflammation early, to distinguish between venous thrombosis and skin infection, and to rule out various causes of fever.
Ultrasound could replace other scanning systems such as CT or CAT scans.This technique is harmless, reproducible and reliable, avoiding the risk of radiation and its effects on the patient. With regard to autoimmune diseases, clinical ultrasound can be used to study the enlargement of the salivary glands or the thyroid gland, the functioning of the heart or the pulmonary involvement common in these diseases.
Many healthcare professionals use ultrasound in their daily clinical practice, primarily to detect vascular damage. and to be able to intervene early, as cardiovascular disease is one of the most serious complications that patients with autoimmune diseases currently have, being one of the main causes of mortality.
Carotid Doppler ultrasound also offers advantages for the diagnosis of systemic autoimmune diseases, as it detects atheromatous disease early. "This test is performed at the doctor's office, thus influencing both lifestyle and pharmacological measures to prevent cardiovascular complications in systemic autoimmune diseases," Pallarés emphasised.
Autoimmune diseases
Autoimmune diseases occur when the immune system attacks the body's own cells. Normally, when the body is attacked by germs, the immune system goes into action to kill the germs that might attack us. This keeps us healthy. But Sometimes immune cells mistake the body's cells for foreigners and attack them. The attack can affect any part of the body. And it can also affect several parts of the body at the same time.. This 'friendly fire', an attack against the very organism it is supposed to defend, is called autoimmunity. Autoimmune disease occurs when, in a small number of cases, our immune system does not have the good sense to stop the attack. It goes on and actually damages the body, causing autoimmune disease.
Systemic autoimmune diseases occur when antibodies attack non-specific antigens in more than one organ.. A good example of a systemic autoimmune disease is systemic lupus erythematosus.
But there are many more. Multi-organ autoimmune diseases include the following or systemic the following:
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Reactive arthritis
- Some dermatitis
- Coeliac disease
- Behçet's disease
- Whipple's disease
- Scleroderma
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
- Multiple sclerosis
- Spondyloarthropathy
- Fibromyalgia
- Rheumatic fever
- Wegener's granulomatosis
- Systemic lupus erythematosus
- Antiphospholipid syndrome or Hughes syndrome
- Relapsing polychondritis
- Polymyositis and dermatomyositis
- Chronic inflammatory inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy
- Psoriasis
- Immune thrombocytopenic purpura
- Sarcoidosis
- Chronic fatigue syndrome
- Guillain-Barré Syndrome
- Sjögren's syndrome
- Systemic vasculitis
- Vitiligo
2 thoughts on “Enfermedades autoinmunes sistémicas”
I have neuromyelitis optica and in September 2017 I was given Rituximaf 2.200ml and the doctor said that I need another dose, is this correct? ????
I don't have any symptoms, I feel fine.
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