Chronic Diarrhea as the Presenting Complaint of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus in a Man

Systemic lupus can involve any part of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Diarrhea generally results from complications arising from infection, drugs or pancreatitis. We herein report the case of a 40-year-old hypertensive man with a psychotic disorder in whom the evaluation of chronic diarrhea revealed a diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), diffuse proliferative glomerulonephritis and protein-losing enteropathy that required treatment with both steroids and mycophenolate mofetil. Over the following year, the patient developed atrial fibrillation, miliary tuberculosis and generalized clonic tonic seizures. He is currently under regular follow-up care and receives antiepileptics, antihypertensives, diltiazem, amiodarone and warfarin.