Elizabeth Reinitz

Lupus pregnancy. Case-control prospective study demonstrating absence of lupus exacerbation during or after pregnancy.

To assess whether pregnancy is associated with exacerbation of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a variety of clinical markers of disease activity in 28 pregnant patients with SLE (33 pregnancies) were compared with the same markers in age-, race-, organ system-, and disease severity-matched nonpregnant women with SLE. Both groups were followed up for periods of up to one year after delivery. Eight patients elected abortion for nonmedical reasons. In all patient groups, there were no differences between pregnant and nonpregnant patient groups in frequency of any disease activity marker studied including therapy. However, new proteinuria occurred in four pregnant patients compared with one nonpregnant patient, and thrombocytopenia attributable to SLE occurred in five pregnant patients and one nonpregnant patient. Renal disease, when it occurred, more closely resembled pregnancy-induced hypertension than lupus nephritis. It is concluded that pregnancy complications are frequent, but the assertion that pregnancy causes exacerbation of SLE remains unproved.

Ruptured hepatic artery aneurysms in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus: Case report

Spontaneous hemorrhage caused by ruptured left hepatic artery branch aneurysms occurred in a 49-year-old man with systemic lupus erythematosus Following evaluation by computerized tomography and angiography, transcatheter embolization of the left hepatic artery resulted in hemostasis. The various etiologies of hepatic artery aneurysms are discussed. This case demonstrates that systemic lupus erythematosus must be considered in the differential diagnosis of hepatic artery aneurysms and spontaneous hepatic hemorrhage.