Multibacillary Leprosy with Positive Serology Misdiagnosed as Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
July 2022
in “
BMJ Case Reports
”
Studysummary This case report describes a woman in her 30s diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus, characterized by alopecia, arthritis, photosensitivity, and skin rashes, confirmed through positive serology. Our plain-language summary of this paper — not a Tressless recommendation.
A woman in her 30s, initially diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) due to symptoms like alopecia, arthritis, photosensitivity, malar rash, and a diffuse maculopapular skin rash, was later found to have multibacillary leprosy. This misdiagnosis occurred despite positive serology for SLE, highlighting the importance of considering differential diagnoses in similar clinical presentations.
