Solitary liver mass causing diagnostic dilemma in a case of lupus nephritis

Diffuse proliferative lupus nephritis requires aggressive therapy. Patients with lupus nephritis may have concomitant hepatic involvement in the form of lesions that may be inflammatory or neoplastic in nature. In such situations, initiation of immuno-suppressive therapy may prove difficult without defining the nature of the lesion. This report describes the diagnostic dilemma that we encountered in a young patient with lupus nephritis who was discovered to have an incidental solitary liver mass on abdominal ultrasound. The literature of hepatic involvement in lupus is reviewed and discussed.