Intensive care medicine

Etiology

Dermatology

Peritonitis

Immunology

Ascites

Internal medicine

Lupus erythematosus

Medicine

Gastroenterology

Systemic lupus erythematosus

Disease

Antibody

Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism

Gastrointestinal (GI) manifestations are common in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Diagnosis of SLE is often delayed when GI symptoms are the initial presenting manifestation. GI symptoms in SLE are usually mild and often caused by infections or medication side effects. However, a wide variety of GI manifestations may be seen among patients with SLE, especially those with moderate to severely active disease. GI involvement in SLE can be life-threatening. Clinical presentations of GI lupus are nonspecific and can be difficult to differentiate from infectious, thrombotic, therapy-related, and non-SLE etiologies. Timely recognition, correct attribution, and appropriate treatment of GI manifestations in a patient with SLE are thus important to improve the prognosis.

Chronic lupus peritonitis with ascites: Review of the literature with a case report