Lupus cystitis and performation of the small bowel in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus and overlapping syndrome.

We describe a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and overlapping syndrome who had repeated gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and malabsorption. With a subacute process, she developed paralytic ileus and contracted bladder, and died of perforation of the ileum. When 13 reported cases with lupus cystitis were reviewed, an extremely strong correlation between GI and urinary tract symptoms was observed, indicating the presence of a unique subgroup of SLE.