Hepatic vasculitis mimicking liver abscesses in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus

Abstract

Clinical and radiological liver diseases are uncommon in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We report a 29-year-old female with SLE who presented with right upper quadrant abdominal pain, thrombocytopenia, elevated liver enzymes and multiple hypodense lesions in the liver on a computed tomography (CT) study that mimicked multiple liver abscesses. A liver biopsy showed mild chronic inflammation. Culture results were negative. With steroid therapy the patient improved clinically, the platelet count returned to the normal range and the multiple liver lesions disappeared radiologicaly. This patient represents a rare case of SLE that had hepatic vasculitis mimicking multiple liver abscesses.