Pediatric Grand

Lupus enteritis or inflammatory bowel disease: a report of the diagnosis and treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus complicated with gastrointestinal symptoms

  • LIANG Zhiru ,
  • GUO Linmei ,
  • WANG Fei ,
  • ZHAO Xiaoyun
Expand
  • 1. The 940th Hospital of Joint Logistics Support Force of People's Liberation Army Department of Pediatrics, Lanzhou 730050, Gansu, China
    2. Medical Department of Northwest Minzu University, Lanzhou 730030, Gansu, China

Received date: 2024-04-16

  Accepted date: 2025-01-10

  Online published: 2026-01-05

Abstract

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are chronic systemic autoimmune conditions marked by aberrant immune activation. The pathogenesis of both diseases is multifactorial, involving a complex interplay between genetic susceptibility and environmental influences. Although the simultaneous presence of SLE and IBD is uncommon in clinical practice, this report describes a pediatric female patient who presented with abdominal pain as the primary manifestation and was ultimately diagnosed with both SLE and ulcerative colitis. Treatment with infliximab (IFX), a tumor necrosis factor-α inhibitor, in combination with immunosuppressive therapy led to significant alleviation of her autoimmune and gastrointestinal symptoms. This case highlights the importance of maintaining a high index of suspicion for underlying IBD when evaluating SLE patients with unexplained gastrointestinal complaints—particularly abdominal pain or diarrhea—that do not correlate with typical disease flares.

Cite this article

LIANG Zhiru , GUO Linmei , WANG Fei , ZHAO Xiaoyun . Lupus enteritis or inflammatory bowel disease: a report of the diagnosis and treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus complicated with gastrointestinal symptoms[J]. Journal of Clinical Pediatrics, 2026 , 44(1) : 56 -63 . DOI: 10.12372/jcp.2026.24e0351

References

[1] Alharbi S. Gastrointestinal manifestations in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus[J]. Open Access Rheumatol, 2022, 14: 243-253.
[2] 苏宁, 张绍荣, 章秀丽. 以狼疮性肠炎为首发表现的系统性红斑狼疮一例[J]. 临床内科杂志, 2019, 36(4): 277-278.
  Su N, Zhang SR, Zhang XL. A case of systemic lupus erythematosus with lupus enteritis as the first manifestation[J]. Linchuang Neike Zazhi, 2019, 36(4): 277-278.
[3] 谢敏珠, 靳政玺, 胡伟新. 系统性红斑狼疮相关肠道损伤的研究进展[J]. 肾脏病与透析肾移植杂志, 2021, 30(5): 480-484.
  Xie MZ, Jin ZX, Hu WX. Intestinal injury in systemic lupus erythematosus[J]. Shenzangbing Yu Touxi Shenyizhi Zazhi, 2021, 30(5): 480-484.
[4] Kaenkumchorn T, Wahbeh G. Ulcerative colitis: making the diagnosis[J]. Gastroenterol Clin North Am, 2020, 49(4): 655-669.
[5] Harbord M, Eliakim R, Bettenworth D, et al. Corrigendum: third European evidence-based consensus on diagnosis and management of ulcerative colitis. Part 2: current management[J]. J Crohns Colitis, 2017, 11(12): 1512.
[6] Edmund L, Dubois EL, Tuffanelli DL. Clinical mani-festations of systemic lupus erythematosus computer analysis of 520 cases[J]. JAMA, 1964, 90: 104-111.
[7] De Jager PL, Graham R, Farwell L, et al. The role of inflammatory bowel disease susceptibility loci in multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus erythematosus[J]. Genes Immun, 2006, 7(4): 327-334.
[8] Ferreiros-Vidal I, Garcia-Meijide J, Carreira P, et al. The three most common CARD15 mutations associated with Crohn's disease and the chromosome 16 susceptibility locus for systemic lupus erythematosus[J]. Rheumatology (Oxford), 2003, 42(4): 570-574.
[9] Nitzan O, Elias M, Saliba WR. Systemic lupus erythe-matosus and inflammatory bowel disease[J]. Eur J Intern Med, 2006, 17(5): 313-318.
[10] Alves SC, Fasano S, Isenberg DA. Autoimmune gastro-intestinal complications in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: case series and literature review[J]. Lupus, 2016, 25(14): 1509-1519.
[11] Yamashita H, Ueda Y, Kawaguchi H, et al. Systemic lupus erythematosus complicated by Crohn's disease: a case report and literature review[J]. BMC Gastroenterol, 2012, 12:174.
[12] Tian XP, Zhang X. Gastrointestinal involvement in systemic lupus erythematosus: insight into pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment[J]. World J Gastroenterol, 2010, 16(24): 2971-2977.
[13] Shor DB, Dahan S, Comaneshter D, et al. Does inflammatory bowel disease coexist with systemic lupus erythematosus?[J] Autoimmun Rev, 2016, 15(11): 1034-1037.
[14] Aggarwal BB, Gupta SC, Kim JH. Historical perspectives on tumor necrosis factor and its superfamily: 25 years later, a golden journey[J]. Blood, 2012, 119(3) :651-665.
[15] 谢小萌, 何琼. 英夫利昔单抗治疗炎症性肠病的研究进展[J]. 现代临床医学, 2022, 48(6): 472-476.
  Xie XM, He Q. Research progress of infliximab in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease[J]. Xiandai Linchuang Yixue, 2022, 48(6): 472-476.
[16] Zhu LJ, Yang X, Yu XQ. Anti-TNF-alpha therapies in systemic lupus erythematosus[J]. J Biomed Biotechnol, 2010, 2010: 465898.
[17] 洪铭齐. 中重度溃疡性结肠炎早期应用英夫利昔单抗治疗的疗效分析[D]. 吉林大学, 2023.
  Hong MQ. Efficacy analysis of infliximab in early treatment of moderate to severe ulcerative colitis[D]. Jilin University, 2023.
[18] Ben-Horin S, Ungar B, Eliakim R, et al. Infliximab efficacy and safety in an ulcerative colitis patient with systemic lupus erythematosus[J]. J Crohns Colitis, 2016, 10(6): 752-753.
[19] Jo?o-Magalh?es M, Lago P, Pedroto I. Crohn's disease and systemic lupus erythematosus: a rare and challenging association[J]. Rev Esp Enferm Dig, 2015, 107(6): 394-395.
[20] Principi M, Di Leo A, Ingrosso M, et al. Lupus neph-ritis improvement after anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha monoclonal antibody (infliximab) treatment for Crohn's disease: a case report[J]. Immunopharmacol Immunotoxicol, 2004, 26(2): 243-248.
[21] Kagaya Y, Sakamoto H, Yano T, et al. Mucosal healing of Crohn's disease in a patient with concurrent systemic lupus erythematosus using infliximab[J]. Clin J Gastroenterol, 2017, 10(3): 244-249.
[22] Mansour HE, Arafa SG, Shehata WA. Systemic lupus erythematosus with inflammatory bowel disease-ulcerative colitis: case report[J]. Lupus, 2018, 27(7): 1198-1201.
[23] Jin X, Wang G, Xu X, et al. Coexistence of Crohn's disease and systemic lupus erythematosus: a case report and literature review[J]. Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol, 2020, 32(9): 1256-1262.
Outlines

/