A CASE OF SYSTEMIC LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS WITH AUTOIMMUNE HEMOLYTIC ANEMIA AND SEVERE THROMBOCYTOPENIC PURPURA

A case of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) and idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is reported. The patient was a 21-year-old female, who had been diagnosed as having ITP at the age of 9, and SLE at the age of 11. Oral administration of predonisolone at ordinary dosage had been given for a decade. When she was 19 years old, she suffered from AIHA, and two years later, she suffered from severe thrombocytopenia. In both episodes, methylpredonisolone pulse therapy was carried out. The therapy was markedly effective for hemolysis and thrombocytopenia. This clinical combination of AIHA and ITP known as "Evans' syndrome" is associated with organ specific autoantibodies. Some considerations of Evans' syndrome and SLE are described