Lung lesion in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus

Abstract

Systemic lupus erythematosus is a chronic rheumatic autoimmune disease characterized by polysystemic lesions and a variety of clinical manifestations. This disease often aff ects the respiratory system, represented mainly by pleurisy or pulmonary hypertension. However, this publication describes a clinical case in which lung damage in a patient who has had systemic lupus erythematosus for over than 25 years, manifested itself as interstitial lung disease (ILD), which is more typical for other rheumatic diseases, such as  diff use scleroderma, Sjogren disease. ILD manifested with an atypically bright clinical picture, progressed and required the prescription of genetically engineered biological drugs. Their use was complicated by recurrent urinary tract infection, and therefore these drugs were withheld. A peculiar feature of ILD is its blurred clinical picture, which causes additional diffi  culties in diff erential diagnosis, especially during the period of widespread new coronavirus infection, taking into account similar clinical manifestations and changes detected by computed tomography of the lungs, so it leads to a late start of pathogenetic therapy. In this regard, the episode of recrudescence of the patient’s condition manifested by a clinical picture and a pattern of changes on a CT scan, similar to both progressive IPL and pneumonia associated with a new coronavirus infection, which complicated diff erential diagnosis and management tactics, deserves special attention.