title: Pulmonary capillaritis and hemorrhage in neonatal lupus erythematosus (NLE).
abstract: We describe the case of an infant who presented to our institution with tachypnea, cough, and hypoxemia. The baby had been diagnosed with complete heart block (heart rate 50-60 beats/min) in utero and had a pacemaker placed at birth. The mother was found to have both anti-Ro and anti-La antibodies. At age 3 months, the chest radiograph showed diffuse bilateral interstitial infiltrates. A lung biopsy confirmed the presence of necrotizing capillaritis and alveolar hemorrhage, which is an infrequent complication in pediatric patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. The patient did well after recognition and aggressive treatment of this previously unrecognized complication of neonatal lupus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, USA. rlmort01@gwise.louisville.edu
authors.forename: Ronald L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Morton
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Coventry
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Langston
authors.forename: Kenneth
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Schikler
authors.forename: Nemr S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Eid