A Case of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Confused with Infective Endocarditis

Abstract

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multisystemic autoimmune disease resulting from immune system-mediated tissue damage. Clinical findings of SLE can involve skin, kidney, central nervous system, cardiovascular system, serosal membranes, and the hematologic and immune systems. In the differential diagnosis, other connective tissue diseases, infective endocarditis, infections such as viral hepatitis, endocrine disorders such as hypothyroidism, sarcoidosis, and some malignant tumors should be considered. Infective endocarditis can imitate all the symptoms of SLE depending on immune complex accumulation glomerulonephritis. Hemolytic anemia, skin lesions, arthralgia, arthritis, decreased complement levels, and autoantibody positivity, including antinuclear autoantibody (ANA), positivity can be seen. Therefore, high fever, blood cultures, eye examination, and echocardiographic findings are of particular value. Here, we present a case of SLE that was confused with infective endocarditis (IE) due to the presence of high fever associated with autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AHA) and proteinuria as well as increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), cardiac murmur, and Roth’s spots. (The Me­di­cal Bul­le­tin of Ha­se­ki 2014; 52: 212-15)

Keywords

• Systemic lupus erythematosus
• infective endocarditis