Look into Systemic Lupus Erythematosus diagnoses

Abstract

An autoimmune disease or disorder occurs when the individual's immune system becomes confused and attacks/destroys healthy blood tissue by mistake (LFA). Now, in a perfect world, the immune system is supposed to protect us by attacking potentially dangerous foreign bodies but, sometimes the immune system gets it wrong. On a small scale this results in allergies while severe instances can result in a multitude of autoimmune disorders that can frequently lead to death. Currently, the exact cause for this overreaction of the immune system is unknown and, in each instance, it is different but, there are a few running theories on potential triggers. The theory I want to focus on for this project is as follows, "some microorganisms (such as bacteria or viruses) or drugs may trigger changes that confuse the immune system". If this is true, there could be correlations between medicines prescribed, length of surgeries or other similar factors.

Therefore, the goal of this paper is to explore and analyze CHSI data to determine if there are any factors that might lead to the diagnosis of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (Lupus) in a patient's lifetime. The CHSI data provided is a nationwide dataset that has records pertaining to surgeries and relevant diagnoses in relation to said surgeries. Everything from demographic data on the patient to details about the facility performing the surgery along with medicinal data for after the surgery has been provided. Any correlations identified could have serious ramifications for the medical world as currently, there is no proof that the development of one or more autoimmune diseases is anything other than completely random.

My hypothesis is that the longer a patient is open on an operating table, the greater their odds of developing an autoimmune disorder but, I also intend to explore trends in the length of surgeries, patient suspicions, and any other available category that could be causing the diagnoses.