Neonatal lupus erythematosus: three case reports and review of the Chinese literature

Abstract

To recognize the clinical characteristics and outcomes of neonatal lupus erythematosus (NLE), the authors retrospectively review 3 NLE babies in their department and compared their data with 51 NLE cases reported in the available Chinese literature between January 1991 and December 2008. Most of the cases were located near the eastern coast of China, and clinical manifestation of 72.22% of the cases occurred in 2-week-old babies. Skin findings occurred in 94.44% of the patients, 12.96% with complete heart block (CHB), 22.22% with thrombocytopenia, and 14.81% with transient elevated transaminase levels. Cutaneous lesions, thrombocytopenia, and transaminase level showed improvement; 3 CHB cases had persisted after 7 to 10 years follow-up, and 1 case died in 5 months. Twenty-four (44.44%) pregnant woman with anti-Ro/SSA and/or anti-La/SSB antibodies are asymptomatic, and antibody status is first indicated when their child shows symptoms of NLE. Thus, all pregnant women should be screened for anti-Ro/ SSA and anti-La/SSB antibodies.