Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (Feb 2019)

Visceral leishmaniasis mimicking systemic lupus erythematosus

  • Greyce Christine Lisboa Bueno,
  • Amanda Terra de Sá Koerich,
  • Luciana Bonnassis Burg,
  • Sara Letícia Kretzer,
  • Joanita Ângela Gonzaga Del Moral,
  • Ivânio Alves Pereira

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1590/0037-8682-0208-2018
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 52, no. 0

Abstract

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Abstract Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), or kala-azar, a serious disease resulting from a systemic infection caused by a protozoan of the genus Leishmania, is potentially fatal to humans. According to data from Sistema de Informação de Agravos de Notificação (Brazil's Information System for Notifiable Diseases) from 2015 to 2016, 6,489 new cases were recorded in Brazil in 22 of the 27 federative units. In addition to typical clinical findings, VL may be associated with autoimmune phenomena, including simulating systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We present the first case of autochthonous VL mimicking SLE in Santa Catarina in southern Brazil.

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