1992 Volume 31 Issue 4 Pages 521-524
A 46-year-old woman previously diagnosed as having systemic lupus erythematosus presented with severe hypoalbuminemia and anasarca. She was demonstrated to have protein-losing enteropathy without any other active symptoms of SLE. Her bowel habit was normal and endoscopic examination revealed non-specific colitis and a small ulcer in the duodenum. Serum biochemistry showed an abnormal profile of the serum protein, including severe hyperlipoproteinemia and hyperfibrinogenemia. The process of protein-losing was not selective in terms of the molecular size. All of these symptoms and the abnormalities in laboratory data were improved by corticosteroid therapy.
(Internal Medicine 31 : 521-524, 1992)