A case of abdominal aortic aneurysm associated with systemic lupus erythematosus

A case of abdominal aortic aneurysm associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is reported. A 45-year-old woman with a 18-year history of SLE was admitted with severe lumbago radiating to the bilateral inguinal region. CT and DSA showed a dumbbell shaped true aneurysm of the abdominal aorta. An aorto-biiliac Y shaped graft replacements was performed. SLE is rarely associated with aneurysm of the great arteries. We could find only 4 reports of abdominal aneurysm associated with SLE. Common features were the young age of the patient, the long term of the systemic disease, and administration of corticosteroid therapy for a relatively long period of time. We speculate that atherosclerosis, hypertension, and corticosteroid may all work in concert, possibly together with aortic wall involvement or vasculitic damage, to produce the rare abdominal aneurysm in SLE.