A Case Report of Childhood Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Complicated With Bronchiectasis

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is one of the chronic autoimmune diseases affecting the internal organs. Most studies of childhood lupus showed respiratory manifestations in 30% to 50% of cases. Bronchiectasis involves the lung rarely in SLE, specially in children. In a cross-sectional study on 60 Norwegian adults of childhood-onset SLE, only 1 patient (<2%) showed bronchiectasis in high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) scan without any symptoms of bronchiectasis. Our patient was a girl aged 14 years old who was referred to our center with manifestations of arthritis, cough, pleural effusion, malar rash, photosensitivity, convulsion, anemia, positive ANA, and high titer anti-dsDNA. After 3 years, she was admitted for productive cough. HRCT scan was done, showing bilateral bronchiectasis. The purpose of this presentation was to report bronchiectasis as a rare pulmonary manifestations of SLE in young patients.