Cardiovascular reflex tests in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: clinical performance and utility

Abstract

Background This review summarizes current knowledge about cardiovascular reflex tests (CVRTs) and other selected autonomic nervous system (ANS) assessment tests in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients and assesses their clinical utility in this group of patients. Methods The PubMed database was searched for terms associated with CVRTs and SLE. Only papers available in full text and published in English were considered. Ultimately, 13 were selected and analyzed. Results In most of the studies CVRTs results were reported more likely to be abnormal in patients with SLE when compared with controls. The reported prevalence of ANS dysfunction in SLE, diagnosed using CVRTs, ranged from 23.5% to 82.7% of patients, likely because of different definitions of ANS dysfunction, variability in methods of performing CVRTs, and potential confounding factors. In general CVRTs results did not correlate with SLE activity or disease duration, but some CVRTs results correlated with some peptides associated with ANS function, including neuropeptide Y and vasoactive intestinal peptide. Conclusion Patients with SLE generally have abnormal or borderline results of CVRTs, which indicate prevalent abnormalities of the ANS in SLE. Performance of CVRTs requires good standardization of test conditions and familiarity with the proper administration and interpretation of these tests.

Characteristics of cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction and association with quality of life in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

“…In previous studies, the prevalence of CART-based CAN has ranged from 23.5% to 82.7%, proposedly caused by methodological inconsistency, unstandardised test conditions and varying age of the studied populations. 2 Two authors, Stojanovich et al 9 and Milovanovic et al , 32 report on two SLE populations, resembling ours by age, and reported higher CAN prevalences (79.6% and 82.7%) than in the current study. Like in the current study, both authors considered CAN present when two or more of the CARTs were abnormal.…”

Presence of retained calcified fibrin sheath after central venous catheter removal: A systematic literature review

“…Systemic scleroderma and SLE are chronic autoimmune disorders of the connective tissue in which dysfunction of multiple organs, including the autonomic nervous system, is observed. 54,55 Importantly, systemic scleroderma and SLE are known to be much more prevalent in females than in males and the majority of SLE patients have affected kidneys. Lupus nephritis occurs in more than half of patients with SLE and approximately 10% of these patients develop ESRD and require hemodialysis.…”

An Investigation of Physiological System Impairments in Individuals 4 Weeks to 6 Months Following Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

“…Item scores are summed, and then divided for a final score out of 7. Scores of more than 4.7/7 are considered clinically relevant for fatigue associated with ANS dysfunction 18,19…”