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

Pleuropulmonary disease is a common feature of the following connective tissue diseases: systemic lupus erythematosis (SLE), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), progressive systemic sclerosis (PSS), mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD), polymyositis/dermatomyositis (PM/DM), and Sjogren's syndrome (SS). Features common to most of these disorders include pleurisy with effusion and interstitial lung disease. Pleural effusions caused by SLE and RA have certain characteristics on pleural fluid analysis that aid in diagnosis, but infection and other causes of effusion must be excluded. Interstitial lung involvement is usually indolent in onset, but a more rapidly progressive course over weeks to a few months may mimic infection. Several drugs used to treat connective tissue diseases may cause interstitial disease, increase susceptibility to infection, or both. This complicates differential diagnosis. Acute lupus pneumonitis and SLE-related alveolar hemorrhage are usually fulminant processes, often associated with fever. Diagnosis of these conditions always requires exclusion of infection. Rheumatoid nodules may mimic infectious and neoplastic lung diseases. Needle biopsy helps reduce the likelihood of infection or malignancy, but open lung biopsy is needed if a firm diagnosis of rheumatoid nodules is required.
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PMID:Respiratory manifestations of connective tissue disease. 305 17

Pulmonary problems are common in systemic lupus erythematosus, and may be the presenting feature of this multi-system disease. The clinical spectrum ranges from mild, self-limited, pleuritic chest pain to fulminant and rapidly fatal, diffuse, pulmonary hemorrhage. Accordingly, treatment must be individually tailored to the clinical features of each patient. Non-steroidal-anti-inflammatory drugs may be adequate therapy for pleuritic pain. High dose corticosteroids may be indicated in more severe cases of pleurisy with effusion, lupus pneumonitis, and diffuse interstitial lung disease. Immunosuppressive drugs such as azathioprine and cyclophosphamide should be considered in cases of lupus pneumonitis or interstitial lung disease unresponsive to steroids. Combined therapy with corticosteroids, immunosuppressives and plasmapheresis should be considered for fulminant cases of diffuse pulmonary hemorrhage attributed to lupus. There is no definitive therapy for pulmonary hypertension at this time. Decisions regarding treatment in each instance must be made with the recognition that there is little strong clinical evidence to support the use of any of these therapies. Finally, no pulmonary process should be attributed to lupus until infection has been rigorously excluded in these patients.
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PMID:Pulmonary disease in systemic lupus erythematosus. 390 99