A case of neonatal lupus presenting with fever and skin rash in a 47-day-old girl

ABSTRACT

Neonatal lupus (NL) is a passively acquired autoimmune disease that occurs in infants born from asymptomatic mothers having anti-SSA or anti-SSB antibody. Infants with NL may show symptoms of systemic lupus erythematosus, including skin rash, congenital heart block, hepatic dysfunction, and hematological abnormalities. Mothers of the infants are asymptomatic or diagnosed with autoimmune diseases. When infants born to asymptomatic mothers who have never been diagnosed with the diseases show symptoms of NL, they may be mistaken for having infections. We report an NL case of a 47-day-old girl who presented to the emergency department with fever and skin rash.