Systemic lupus erythematosus: symptoms, diagnosis, treatment

1. Big picture

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic, relapsing-remitting systemic autoimmune disease caused by loss of immune tolerance, autoantibody production, immune-complex deposition, complement activation, and multiorgan inflammation.

For the exam, SLE is the prototype of a multisystem autoimmune disease:

young woman + photosensitivity/malar rash + non-erosive arthritis + cytopenias + renal findings + ANA/anti-dsDNA + low complement = think SLE.

The most dangerous organ involvement is:

• lupus nephritis
• central nervous system involvement
• severe cytopenias
• antiphospholipid syndrome
• myocarditis/pericarditis
• infection due to immunosuppression