An autopsied case of systemic lupus erythematosus with pulmonary hypertension--a case report

The authors report an autopsied case of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with pulmonary hypertension. The patient was a forty-five-year-old female who had been troubled by obstinate Raynaud's phenomenon for ten years before the definite diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension was made. Microscopic examination of the pulmonary vasculature yielded findings consistent with plexogenic pulmonary arteriopathy. However, the deposition of immune complexes in the pulmonary vascular endothelium was not detected by enzyme antibody study. This case suggests, therefore, that "pulmonary Raynaud's phenomenon" is a possible pathogenesis of pulmonary hypertension in patients with SLE.