[Pancreatitis with hepatitis revealing a systemic lupus erythematosus]

We report the case of a 27 years old woman, hospitalised for non necrotizing acute pancreatitis and cytolytic hepatitis. No usual aetiology was found. Associated cutaneous manifestations and biologic abnormalities were the clue to the diagnosis of lupus-related pancreatitis and hepatitis. Disease course was uneventful with systemic corticotherapy and antimalarials. Pancreatitis is a very uncommon manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus. Its incidence is estimated at 1.1/1000 lupus per year. Ten cases of lupus-revealing pancreatitis have been reported. This case is the first one associated with a lupus-related hepatitis. It is important to seek specific cutaneous signs to ascertain the diagnosis as soon as possible and avoid useless and deleterious investigations. In our patient, the favourable evolution of the pancreatitis with corticosteroids adds further evidence to the idea that lupus-related pancreatitis is not a side effect of corticosteroid therapy.