A Case of a 31-Year-Old Female Patient With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Presenting With Lupus-Associated Pleural Effusions and Newly Diagnosed Lupus Nephritis

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by multiorgan involvement and the presence of antinuclear antibodies (ANA). Given the potential for multiorgan involvement, patients with SLE can present with a variety of phenotypes. The most common presenting symptoms of SLE are constitutional, such as fevers, fatigue, malaise, and weight loss. This is followed in prevalence by cutaneous and musculoskeletal manifestations. Pulmonary, renal, and gastrointestinal manifestations occur at similar rates of prevalence. Workup of SLE involves checking autoantibodies and complement levels. Management of SLE is highly complex and varies based on disease severity as well as clinical presentation. Current guidelines recommend the use of hydroxychloroquine in all patients with SLE (unless contraindicated) along with other immunomodulators. In this article, we present the case of a 31-year-old woman with previously diagnosed SLE who presented with both pulmonary and renal manifestations. We discuss the disease progression, as well as an overview of the management for these manifestations.