Nursing study guide
Autoimmunity
Connect loss of immune self-tolerance with inflammation, organ injury, flares, and treatment risk.
Core mechanism
The immune system mistakenly targets the body’s own cells, tissues, or organs.
Course
Disease may be organ-specific or systemic and may alternate between flares and relative remission.
Nursing lens
Balance disease activity, functional impact, medication toxicity, and infection risk.
Immune foundations
Tolerance normally limits self-directed injury
Genetic susceptibility, hormones, exposures, infection, smoking, and other triggers may interact.
Innate response
Rapid barriers, phagocytes, complement, and inflammatory signals respond broadly to danger.
Adaptive response
B and T lymphocytes recognize targets, coordinate responses, make antibodies, and form memory.
Self-tolerance
Multiple checkpoints normally remove, restrain, or silence immune cells that strongly recognize self.
Autoimmunity
Loss of tolerance can produce autoantibodies, self-reactive cells, inflammation, and tissue injury.
Patterns
Organ-specific and systemic disease look different
Symptoms follow the tissue under attack.
| Pattern | Examples | Assessment focus |
|---|---|---|
| Systemic | Lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic sclerosis | Fatigue, fever, joints, skin, kidneys, lungs, heart, blood, neurologic change. |
| Endocrine | Type 1 diabetes, autoimmune thyroid disease, adrenal autoimmunity | Glucose, metabolism, weight, temperature tolerance, hemodynamics. |
| Neuromuscular | Multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis | Strength, sensation, vision, swallowing, breathing, mobility. |
| GI + blood | Celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease, autoimmune cytopenias | Nutrition, stool, bleeding, anemia, infection risk. |
Assessment
Distinguish activity, damage, infection, and adverse effects
The same symptom can have more than one cause.
History
Onset, pattern, triggers, prior flares, organ involvement, function, pregnancy plans, vaccines, infection exposure, and medication use.
Focused exam
Skin, mucosa, joints, strength, lungs, heart, kidneys, neurologic status, circulation, nutrition, and pain as relevant.
Trend
Compare symptoms with baseline, disease markers, organ tests, medication changes, and treatment response.
Red flags
New dyspnea, chest pain, neurologic deficit, severe weakness, renal change, fever while immunosuppressed, or rapidly progressive symptoms.
Testing
No single antibody result defines the whole patient
Pretest probability, test characteristics, pattern, titer, and organ findings matter.
Inflammation
ESR and CRP are nonspecific and may not track every autoimmune condition.
Autoantibodies
ANA, disease-associated antibodies, rheumatoid factor, and related tests require clinical interpretation.
Organ monitoring
CBC, urinalysis, kidney and liver tests, thyroid tests, glucose, imaging, and function testing depend on disease and therapy.
Treatment
Therapy targets symptoms, inflammation, and immune pathways
Regimens are disease- and patient-specific.
Anti-inflammatory
NSAIDs or corticosteroids may reduce symptoms or acute inflammation but carry GI, renal, metabolic, bone, mood, and infection risks.
Disease modifying
Conventional immunomodulators and biologics require indication-specific screening and laboratory monitoring.
Safety
Verify infection screening, vaccines, pregnancy considerations, organ function, interactions, and hold instructions from the treating team.
Do not stop abruptly
Some therapies—especially prolonged corticosteroids—require a prescribed taper or transition plan.
Living with disease
Protect function and make fluctuation visible
A good plan includes more than medication.
Track
Symptoms, fatigue, pain, sleep, function, temperature, infection clues, medication effects, and individualized triggers.
Support
Energy conservation, activity, joint protection, nutrition, skin care, mental health, and reproductive planning are individualized.
Teach
Know which changes suggest flare, infection, thrombosis, organ involvement, or a medication emergency.
Sources
Reference notes
Specialty guidance and the individual treatment plan determine bedside decisions.