Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0024141 (systemic lupus erythematosus)
 44,322 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Pneumatosis of the gastrointestinal tract is a rare condition characterized by the presence of air filled cavities in the gastrointestinal tract wall. Its occurrence has been described throughout the gastrointestinal tract from the esophagus to the rectum, however it is most commonly reported in the small intestine. Despite multiple case reports in literature, its pathogenesis still remains unclear. Pneumatosis may be idiopathic or associated with a variety of disorders namely peptic ulcer disease, jejunoileal bypass, intestinal obstruction and non-gastrointestinal disorders like asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, infectious enteritis, etc. We here present a rare case of pneumatosis of the esophagus diagnosed incidentally at an esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD). A 78-year-old asymptomatic woman underwent EGD and colonoscopy at our hospital for evaluation of anemia. Few months prior to EGD, she had undergone excision of laryngocele at our hospital. EGD revealed extensive submucosal blebs distributed throughout the esophagus, otherwise unremarkable stomach and duodenum. Colonoscopy showed a tubular adenomatous polyp. Since our patient was asymptomatic she did not require any surgical intervention. Management of pneumatosis depends on the underlying cause.
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PMID:Incidental finding of esophageal pneumatosis. 2342 40

Lupus enteritis is a rare and poorly understood cause of abdominal pain in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In this study, we report a series of 7 new patients with this rare condition who were referred to French tertiary care centers and perform a systematic literature review of SLE cases fulfilling the revised ACR criteria, with evidence for small bowel involvement, excluding those with infectious enteritis. We describe the characteristics of 143 previously published and 7 new cases. Clinical symptoms mostly included abdominal pain (97%), vomiting (42%), diarrhea (32%) and fever (20%). Laboratory features mostly reflected lupus activity: low complement levels (88%), anemia (52%), leukocytopenia or lymphocytopenia (40%) and thrombocytopenia (21%). Median CRP level was 2.0 mg/dL (range 0-8.2 mg/dL). Proteinuria was present in 47% of cases. Imaging studies revealed bowel wall edema (95%), ascites (78%), the characteristic target sign (71%), mesenteric abnormalities (71%) and bowel dilatation (24%). Only 9 patients (6%) had histologically confirmed vasculitis. All patients received corticosteroids as a first-line therapy, with additional immunosuppressants administered either from the initial episode or only in case of relapse (recurrence rate: 25%). Seven percent developed intestinal necrosis or perforation, yielding a mortality rate of 2.7%. Altogether, lupus enteritis is a poorly known cause of abdominal pain in SLE patients, with distinct clinical and therapeutic features. The disease may evolve to intestinal necrosis and perforation if untreated. Adding with this an excellent steroid responsiveness, timely diagnosis becomes primordial for the adequate management of this rare entity.
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PMID:Lupus enteritis: from clinical findings to therapeutic management. 2364 42