CASE REPORT
Multiple Hepatic Micro-Hypodensities as a Presenting Sign in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus- A Case Report
Samarth Mathapathi1, *, Michael Preziosi1
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2020Volume: 14
First Page: 22
Last Page: 27
Publisher ID: TORJ-14-22
DOI: 10.2174/1874312902014010022
Article History:
Received Date: 02/04/2020Revision Received Date: 09/06/2020
Acceptance Date: 19/06/2020
Electronic publication date: 08/09/2020
Collection year: 2020
open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode). This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic multisystemic inflammatory disorder that can present with a wide array of signs and symptoms. Hepatic involvement is commonly limited to a subclinical biochemical transaminitis while clinically significant liver disease is rare. A case of a 22-year-old female who presented with abdominal pain, fevers, arthralgia, and several hepatic hypodense lesions with normal liver function tests is reported in this study. She failed to improve with antibiotics and infectious workup was largely unrevealing. She was found to have a positive ANA, high titers of anti-double-stranded DNA antibody, and was ultimately diagnosed with new-onset SLE with hepatic aseptic micro-abscesses. Her symptoms were self-limiting, and she was later started on a low-dose prednisone taper and hydroxychloroquine. This case demonstrates that hepatic involvement, despite normal liver function tests, should be considered in SLE patients presenting with abdominal pain.
