Abdominal Pain as the Initial and Sole Clinical Presenting Feature of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Classically, a diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is dependent on renal, rheumatological, cutaneous and neurological target organ damage with supporting serological markers. A previously healthy 26-year-old Japanese woman whose only manifestation of otherwise occult SLE was severe abdom...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2003-01-01
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| Series: | Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2003/768184 |
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| Summary: | Classically, a diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is dependent on renal, rheumatological, cutaneous and neurological target organ damage with supporting serological markers. A previously healthy 26-year-old Japanese woman whose only manifestation of otherwise occult SLE was severe abdominal pain is reported. A computed tomographic scan of the abdomen revealed thickened loops of small bowel, endoscopic findings were nonspecific and jejunal biopsy revealed a nonspecific enteritis. Laboratory studies revealed lymphopenia, hypocomplementemia, a positive antinuclear antibody, a weakly positive anti-Smith and a strongly positive anti-double stranded DNA. There was a prompt symptomatic recovery with immunosuppressive therapy. The authors’ experiences, and a review of the literature suggest that a diagnosis of SLE should be considered in young Asian women who present with significant but clinically enigmatic gastrointestinal illness. |
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| ISSN: | 0835-7900 |