A unique case of systemic lupus erythematosus with medium- and large-vessel vasculitis

Abstract

Medium and large-vessel vasculitis in association with SLE is distinctly uncommon and is limited to occasional case reports only. We present a case of 40 year old female who presented with complaints of left sided pleuritic chest pain of 10 days duration. She was diagnosed to have hypertension 1 year ago which was treatment resistant. In present admission she had accelerated hypertension for which she was evaluated systematically. She was diagnosed to have SLE with Bilateral Renal artery stenosis and stenosis of other visceral vessels. Literature search revealed very few cases of SLE presenting with features of medium and large vessel vasculitis. Large vessel involvement in SLE is associated with high disease activity and therefore early recognition of this rare entity is essential.

Keywords

• large-vessel vasculitis
• systemic lupus erythematosus
• vasculitis