Vasculitis in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Abstract

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a complex heterogeneous autoimmune disease with a wide variety of clinical and serological manifestations that may affect any organ. Vasculitis prevalence in SLE is reported to be between 11 % and 36 %. A diverse clinical spectrum, due to inflammatory involvement of vessels of all sizes, is present. Even though cutaneous lesions, representing small vessel involvement, are the most frequent, medium and large vessel vasculitis may present with visceral affection, with life-threatening manifestations such as mesenteric vasculitis, pulmonary hemorrhage, or mononeuritis multiplex, with detrimental consequences. Early recognition and an appropriate treatment are crucial. Recent studies have shown that vasculitis in patients with SLE may present different clinical forms based on the organ involved and the size of the affected vessel. It is noteworthy that the episodes of vasculitis are not always accompanied by high disease activity. Recent articles on this topic have focused on new treatments for the control of vascular disease, such as biological therapies such as Rituximab and Belimumab, among others.