Clinical Features of Morbilliform Erythema in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Jun, Jae Hong; Lee, Chang Woo

Abstract

BACKGROUND: In patients with systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE), LE-specific cutaneous lesions include malar rashes, widespread/morbilliform erythema, oral ulcer and bullous lesions.
OBJECTIVE
Clinical observations were carried out to define cutaneous features of morbilliform erythema and to see possible relevancy of this erythema to disease activity of SLE.
METHODS
Examinations were performed on 7 SLE patients with morbilliform erythema regarding the distribution and course of the cutaneous lesions; some SLE-activity related hematologic/immunologic data taken during/around the time of this skin disease were also assessed in each patient.
RESULTS
In most of those patients with morbilliform erythema, which covered the trunk and extremities, the skin lesions lasted for about 2 weeks until their disappearance. At or around the time of suffering from this skin disease of acute eutaneous LE, activities of systemic disease were recognized as "in a state of flare-up or aggravation" with hypocomplementemia and high titers of anti-nDNA autoantibodies.
CONCLUSION
As with malar rashes, morbilliform erythema of acute cutaneous LE seems to develop more frequently at the time of severe systemic involvement of immunopathological processes of SLE.