Neuropsychiatric Lupus in a Nigerian Teenager
April 2018
in “
African journal of rheumatology
”
TLDR A Nigerian teenager was diagnosed with neuropsychiatric lupus, showing various severe symptoms and abnormal lab results.
This case report described a Nigerian teenager diagnosed with neuropsychiatric lupus as part of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), based on the American College of Rheumatology criteria. She exhibited symptoms including fever, polyarthralgia, malar rash, pharyngitis, abdominal pain, discharging ears, fatigue, myalgia, weight loss, facial swelling, cough, hair loss, persistent headache, anxiety, confusion, and generalized tonic-clonic seizures. Examination revealed distress, difficulty breathing, bilateral inguinal lymphadenopathy, and a pulse rate of 118 beats/min. Laboratory results showed a positive anti-nuclear antibody (1:>5120), positive anti-double stranded DNA (>300 IU/ml), anemia (Hb 7g/dl; PCV 21%), low white blood cell count (3.5 x 10^9), and proteinuria (1+), with normal serum electrolytes, urea, and creatinine.