Screening of acute psychiatric admissions for previously undiagnosed systemic lupus erythematosus

An auto-antibody screen for SLE, which included antinuclear antibodies, was performed on 296 patients admitted to acute psychiatric and psychogeriatric wards. Three cases (1% of those screened) of previously undiagnosed SLE were found, and one patient was found to have autoimmune chronic active hepatitis. An auto-antibody screen may be a useful investigation in psychiatric practice.