Viral, fungal and mycobacterial infections in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

Abstract

Prevalence and outcome of infections such as herpes zoster (HZ),Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis, Tbc), cytomegalovirus (CMV) and fungi were investigated in total of 132 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) including 15 autopsied cases diagnosed and treated between 1975 and 1996. HZ was identified in 22 patients (17%) and five (23%) of 22 cases experienced multiple HZ onset. None of the HZ exhibited severe cutaneous dissemination or aggravation of SLE.Tbc infection was identified in three patients (2%) and two patients recovered, but the one died from leptomeningitis tuberculosis. Out of 15 autopsy cases, deep CMV infections were identified in three (20%), candidiasis in four (27%), and zygomycosis and aspergillosis in one (7%). One patient with CMV infection and the patient with zygomycosis and aspergillosis died as a result of the infection. These infections, however, did not aggravate SLE, except in the patient with zygomycosis and aspergillosis. In contrast to HZ,Tbc and deep CMV and fungal infections seem to disseminate and threaten the prognosis of SLE patients, and some fungi such as zygomycetes tended to aggravate the basic disease.