Amegakaryocytic thrombocytopenia associated with systemic lupus erythematosus successfully treated by a high-dose...

A patient with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) developed amegakaryocytic thrombocytopenic purpura. The absence of a drug relationship or other identifiable underlying cause made us consider this to be a rare manifestation of SLE. Her thrombocytopenia, which initially appeared to be steroid-resistant, ultimately improved following a prolonged high-dose prednisolone therapy. To our knowledge, this is the second case of amegakaryocytic thrombocytopenia associated with SLE in the literature. The possibility that amegakaryocytic thrombocytopenia in SLE can be caused by cellular rather than humoral immunologic mechanism was discussed.