[Gastrointestinal manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus. Case report]

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an inflammatory connective tissue disease with an autoimmune background, involving various organs and systems during its course. The most important and characteristic clinical manifestations have been included in the revised diagnostic criteria for the classification of SLE published by the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) in 1987. One of them is oral ulceration which occurs in 50% of SLE patients. Oral ulcers and other gastrointestinal complaints such as dyspepsia, abdominal pain and diarrhea, usually attributed to the side-effects of medications, are among the most frequent symptoms in patients with lupus. We report the case of a 42-year-old female suffering from long-standing lupus with kidney and joint involvement, who developed abdominal pain, diarrhea, edema, and cachexia. Our case illustrates the difficulties encountered when searching for the cause of gastrointestinal symptoms. Attention during diagnosis should be given to rare gastrointestinal manifestations of SLE, such as intestinal pseudo-obstruction (IPO) and protein-losing enteropathy (PLE).