Management of osteonecrosis in systemic lupus erythematosus

Osteonecrosis is commonly found in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. The effects of this disease are magnified because these patients commonly have, in addition to hip involvement, multiple other joints involved with the disease. Early diagnosis is important for medical and surgical management to try to avoid total joint replacements in this young patient population. There are many joint salvaging procedures that have had moderate success in patients with this disease. In the future, pharmacologic agents and growth and differentiation factors may be effective in the early treatment of this disease and may lead to more successful outcomes with surgical options.