Lupus enteritis as a lone manifestation of SLE: rare but possible

Abstract

A 28-year-old Southeast Asian non-pregnant woman with asthma and prior cholecystectomy presented to the emergency department with acute watery diarrhoea, intermittent abdominal pain and vomiting. Apart from abdominal tenderness, the rest of the physical examination was unremarkable. She had leucocytosis, alkaline phosphatase elevation and exudative ascites. Radiological imaging ruled out biliary leak and was only significant for circumferential small and large bowel thickening. Upper endoscopy and colonoscopy showed normal duodenal and colonic mucosae. Both infectious and malignancy workup were also unremarkable. Bereft of other systemic symptoms, autoimmune pathology was initially deemed unlikely; however, autoimmune workup revealed positive antinuclear antibody, double-stranded DNA, anti-Smith antibody, antinuclear ribonucleoprotein and hypocomplementaemia. With multidisciplinary collaboration, the patient was initiated on high-dose steroids, which dramatically improved her symptoms. She was discharged home with a steroid taper, and at 3 months of follow-up with her rheumatologist, she was continued on steroids and hydroxychloroquine.