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Case Reports
. 2025 Jul 1:12:1538903.
doi: 10.3389/fcvm.2025.1538903. eCollection 2025.

A rare case report: fulminant myocarditis in neonatal lupus erythematosus

Shujun Tan  1 , Long Li  1 , Hui Zhang  1 , Adilai Dawuti  1 , Nuerya Rejiafu  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

A rare case report: fulminant myocarditis in neonatal lupus erythematosus

Shujun Tan et al. Front Cardiovasc Med. .

Abstract

Background: Neonatal lupus erythematosus (NLE) is a rare autoimmune disorder caused by the transplacental passage of maternal autoantibodies, such as anti-Ro/SS-A and anti-La/SS-B. It can affect multiple organ systems, resulting in various symptoms. Fulminant myocarditis, a severe inflammatory heart condition and uncommon complication of NLE, may have a favorable prognosis with timely diagnosis and proper treatment.

Case presentation: We present a case of a one-month-old female infant with seizures, hypocalcemia, and a maternal history of Sjögren's syndrome, which are compatible with NLE. Further diagnostic assessments detected anti-nuclear antibodies, anti-SSA, and anti-RO52 antibodies. The infant also exhibited elevated cardiac biomarkers and a reduced left ventricular ejection fraction, pointing to fulminant myocarditis. Treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin and methylprednisolone led to remarkable clinical improvement and normalization of laboratory parameters within one year.

Conclusions: This case highlights the rarity of fulminant myocarditis in neonatal NLE and emphasizes the critical role of early diagnosis and timely intervention. It also indicates the potential prognostic value of cardiac biomarkers in such cases.

Keywords: cardiac involvement; case report; fulminant myocarditis; literature review; neonatal lupus erythematosus.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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