Sclerosing Peritonitis and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Report of Two Cases

Abstract

Objective To heighten the awareness of a possible association of sclerosing peritonitis in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods and Results Over the course of 17 years (from January 1981 to December 1997), 371 patients were treated with continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) at Rush–Presbyterian–St Lukes Medical Center. The patients were followed on CAPD for an average of 25 ± 21 (SD) months with a median of 19 months (range 0.2 – 115 months). During this time only 2 (0.5%) patients were diagnosed with sclerosing peritonitis, and both had SLE with ongoing evidence of active disease while on CAPD. With a total of 26 SLE patients being treated with CAPD during the observation period, the prevalence of sclerosing peritonitis can be said to be as high as 8% in this patient population. Conclusion These cases suggest that autoimmune diseases, such as SLE, that are well known to cause immune-mediated serositis may represent an additional factor predisposing to the development of sclerosing peritonitis in patients treated with CAPD.