A 31-year-old woman with lupus erythematosus and fatal multisystem complications.

A 31-year-old woman with systemic lupus erythematosus presented with respiratory and renal symptoms followed by abdominal pain and seizure. Clinical diagnoses of lupus pneumonitis, nephritis, vasculitis, and cerebritis were made. The patient had a progressively downhill course with pancytopenia and hemolysis treated with aggressive immunosuppressive therapy and extended plasmapheresis. Lupus pneumonitis leading to diffuse alveolar damage was the immediate cause of death. Diffuse proliferative lupus nephritis was seen in the biopsy, and the autopsy demonstrated thrombotic microangiopathy. Extra-renal complications of lupus and response to therapy are discussed in the format of a Tulane Clinicopathologic Conference.