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Systemic lupus erythematosus
From WikEM
								(Redirected from SLE)
												
				Contents
Background
- Autoimmune disorder affecting all systems
 - Also consider drug induced lupus
 
Epidemiology
- Female:Male 10:1
 - Peak in 20s-30s
 - More common in Black patients
 
Clinical Features
SLICC Classification Criteria 2012 [1] Requirements: >4 of the following criteria (at least 1 clinical and 1 laboratory) OR biopsy proven lupus nephritis with positive ANA or Anti-dsDNA
- Clinical criteria
- Malar rash, bullous lupus, photosensitivity
 - Discoid rash, hypertrophic lupus
 - Oral ulcers or nasal ulcers
 - Non-scarring alopecia
 - Synovitis
 - Serositis
 - Nephritis
 - Cerebritis, myelitis, neuropathy
 - Hemolytic anemia
 - Leukopenia or lymphopenia
 - Thrombocytopenia
 
 
- Immunological criteria
- ANA
 - Anti-dsDNA
 - Anti-Sm
 - Antiphospholipid antibody
 - Low complement C3, low C4
 - Direct Coombs' test in the absence of haemolytic anaemia
 
 
Organ system affected:
- Cardiopulmonary
- Pneumonia
- Cover for Listeria and Pseudomonas
 
 - CAD
- More common and more complications post-PCI
 
 - PE
 - Pericarditis
 - Endocarditis
- Infectious and Libman-Sachs
 
 
 - Pneumonia
 
- Neuropsychiatric/Altered mental status
- Non-convulsive status epilepticus
 - CNS vasculitis
 - Stroke
 - Encephalitis
 - Meningitis
 
 
- Musculoskeletal
- Arthritis
- Usually symmetric
 - Consider septic arthritis if there is a single inflamed joint
- Cover for Salmonella in addition to standard coverage
 
 
 
 - Arthritis
 
- GI
- Lupus enteritis (mesenteric vasculitis)
- Most common cause of acute abdominal pain
 
 - Pancreatitis
 - PUD
 
 - Lupus enteritis (mesenteric vasculitis)
 
- Dermatologic
- Malar rash across bridge of nose
 - Discoid rash, erythematous with scale
 - Treat with topical 1% hydrocortisone
 
 
- Renal
- Usually a nephritis
 - Can cause a glomerulonephrosis
 
 
Differential Diagnosis
- Rheumatoid arthritis
 - Sjogren's syndrome
 - Dermatomyositis
 - Polymyositis
 - Stevens-Johnson syndrome
 - Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis
 - Septic Arthritis
 - Lyme Disease
 - Vasculitis
 - Acute Rheumatic Fever
 - Toxic Shock Syndrome
 - TTP
 - ITP
 - DIC
 
Polyarthritis
- Fibromyalgia
 - Juvenile idiopathic arthritis
 - Lyme disease
 - Osteoarthritis
 - Psoriatic arthritis
 - Reactive poststreptococcal arthritis
 - Rheumatoid arthritis
 - Rheumatic fever
 - Serum sickness
 - Systemic lupus erythematosus
 - Serum sickness–like reactions
 - Viral arthritis
 
Causes of Glomerulonephritis
- Poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis
 - Hemolytic-uremic syndrome
 - Henoch-Schonlein purpura
 - IgA nephropathy
 - Lupus nephritis
 - Alport syndrome
 - Goodpasture syndrome
 
Evaluation
Undiagnosed
- CBC
 - Chem 10
 - Urine pregnancy
 - ANA
 - ESR
 - Urinalysis
 - Bedside echo if ill or hypotensive
 - (Consider anti-DNA, anti-Smith, anti-Nuclear, anti-phospholipid, C3,C4, direct Coombs')
 
Flare
- Bedside echo if ill or hypotensive
 - CBC
 - Chem
 - Urinalysis
 - Urine pregnancy
 - As directed by organ system involved
 
Drug Induced Lupus
- Anti-histone-Ab positive 95% of the time
 - Make sure to review medications
- High risk:
- Procainamide (antiarrhythmic)
 - Hydralazine (antihypertensive)
 
 - Moderate to low risk:
- Infliximab anti (TNF-α)
 - Etanercept anti (TNF-α)
 - Isoniazid (antibiotic)
 - Minocycline (antibiotic)
 - Pyrazinamide (antibiotic)
 - Quinidine (antiarrhythmic)
 - D-Penicillamine (anti-inflammatory)
 - Carbamazepine (anticonvulsant)
 - Oxcarbazepine (anticonvulsant)
 - Phenytoin (anticonvulsant)
 - Propafenone (antiarrhythmic)
 - Chlorpromazine (antipsychotic)
 
 
 - High risk:
 
Fever in SLE
- Must differentiate disease activity (flare) from infection
 
Risk Factors for Infection [2]
- Neutropenia/Lymphopenia
 - Hypocomplementemia
 - Immunosuppressive therapy (especially Azathioprine [3])
 
Studies
Management
- Inflammatory complications
- Methylprednisolone 1-2mg/kg in most cases
 
 - Infectious
- Stress dose steroids with hydrocortisone 100mg IV Q8hr if on or recently on steroids
 
 - Dermatologic
- Hydrocortisone 1% cream
 
 - If drug induced lupus, stop medication and consider alternative
 
Disposition
- Suspected new diagnosis can have out patient workup if well appearing
 - Mild flairs can have expedited out patient management
 - Musculoskeletal symptoms can usually be managed as out patients
 - Chest pain requires urgent ACS evaluation
 - Infections usually require admission for antibiotics and systemic corticosteroids
 
See Also
- Arthritis
 - Fever and Rash
 - Lupus Anticoagulant
 - Pericarditis
 - Pericardial Effusion and Tamponade
 - Acute Renal Failure
 - Adrenal Crisis
 
References
- ↑ Lisnevskaia L, et al. Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. Lancet. 2014 May 29. Epub ahead of print.
 - ↑ Cuchacovich, R., & Gedalia, A. (2009). Pathophysiology and clinical spectrum of infections in systemic lupus erythematosus. Rheumatic diseases clinics of North America, 35(1), 75–93. doi:10.1016/j.rdc.2009.03.003
 - ↑ Zhou, W. J., & Yang, C.-D. (2009). The causes and clinical significance of fever in systemic lupus erythematosus: a retrospective study of 487 hospitalised patients. Lupus, 18(9), 807–812. doi:10.1177/0961203309103870
 - ↑ Kim, H.-A., Jeon, J.-Y., An, J.-M., Koh, B.-R., & Suh, C.-H. (2012). C-reactive protein is a more sensitive and specific marker for diagnosing bacterial infections in systemic lupus erythematosus compared to S100A8/A9 and procalcitonin. The Journal of rheumatology, 39(4), 728–734. doi:10.3899/jrheum.111044
 - ↑ Scirè, C. A., Cavagna, L., Perotti, C., Bruschi, E., Caporali, R., & Montecucco, C. (2006). Diagnostic value of procalcitonin measurement in febrile patients with systemic autoimmune diseases. Clinical and experimental rheumatology, 24(2), 123–128.
 

