Recurrent Pneumothorax in a Patient With Poorly Controlled Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Kong, Steve S; Hosterman, Tyler; Bhanusali, Neha

doi:10.1097/rhu.0000000000000913

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 10 publications

(28 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Additionally, surgical intervention is complex, and resistance to repeated talc pleurodesis has been reported [9]. SLE can also present with pneumothorax, which is extremely rare yet carries unfavorable outcomes, with a mortality rate in the reported cases reaching 33% and recurrence of 66%, which could be related to the rupture of the subpleural cavity triggered by lung infarction [10,11]. Pneumothorax has been reported in an extreme case of Wegener's with a poor outcome [12].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Triple-Negative Sjogren’s Syndrome and Recurrent Pneumothorax: An Uncommon Presentation of Autoimmune Disease

Imad¹,

Abdalla²,

Hamza³

et al. 2022

Cureus

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Sjogren's syndrome (SS) is a chronic exocrinopathy caused by lymphocytic infiltration and is associated with numerous manifestations and morbidities. We discuss a case of a 60-year-old female who presented to the Acute Medical Assessment Unit complaining of progressive shortness of breath for one month, not associated with chest pain or lower limb swelling. She also reported joint pain involving both wrists and proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joints, oral dryness, hair loss, and numerous tongue ulcerations. Blood workup revealed triple-negative SS, negative rheumatoid factor, anti-SSA and anti-SSB, a high erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and antinuclear antibody (ANA) titer of 640. A diagnosis of SS was made. Nevertheless, her CT chest showed massive left-sided pneumothorax; subsequently, a chest tube was urgently inserted. The chest tube was removed two days later with complete resolution on chest X-ray (CXR). However, one week later, she presented with a recurrent pneumothorax that persisted and required surgical intervention that led to complete recovery afterward. Pneumothorax is an extremely rare but potentially unfavorable complication related to SS, with only two cases reported in the literature so far and usually associated with underlying lung pathology.

show abstract