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: Henry V Chung, Alnoor Ramji, Jennifer E Davis, Sylvia Chang, Graham D Reid, Baljinder Salh, Hugh J Freeman, Eric M Yoshida
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2003-01-01
Series:Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2003/768184
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author Henry V Chung
Alnoor Ramji
Jennifer E Davis
Sylvia Chang
Graham D Reid
Baljinder Salh
Hugh J Freeman
Eric M Yoshida
author_facet Henry V Chung
Alnoor Ramji
Jennifer E Davis
Sylvia Chang
Graham D Reid
Baljinder Salh
Hugh J Freeman
Eric M Yoshida
author_sort Henry V Chung
collection DOAJ
description 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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series Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology
spelling doaj-art-b613f921cef24dd29a92813dd8b2ea4c2025-08-20T03:20:56ZengWileyCanadian Journal of Gastroenterology0835-79002003-01-0117211111310.1155/2003/768184Abdominal Pain as the Initial and Sole Clinical Presenting Feature of Systemic Lupus ErythematosusHenry V Chung0Alnoor Ramji1Jennifer E Davis2Sylvia Chang3Graham D Reid4Baljinder Salh5Hugh J Freeman6Eric M Yoshida7Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, CanadaDepartment of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, CanadaDepartment of Anatomic Pathology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, CanadaDepartment of Radiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, CanadaDepartment of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, CanadaDepartment of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, CanadaDepartment of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, CanadaDepartment of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, CanadaClassically, 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.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2003/768184
spellingShingle Henry V Chung
Alnoor Ramji
Jennifer E Davis
Sylvia Chang
Graham D Reid
Baljinder Salh
Hugh J Freeman
Eric M Yoshida
Abdominal Pain as the Initial and Sole Clinical Presenting Feature of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology
title Abdominal Pain as the Initial and Sole Clinical Presenting Feature of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
title_full Abdominal Pain as the Initial and Sole Clinical Presenting Feature of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
title_fullStr Abdominal Pain as the Initial and Sole Clinical Presenting Feature of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
title_full_unstemmed Abdominal Pain as the Initial and Sole Clinical Presenting Feature of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
title_short Abdominal Pain as the Initial and Sole Clinical Presenting Feature of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
title_sort abdominal pain as the initial and sole clinical presenting feature of systemic lupus erythematosus
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2003/768184
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