Deforming arthropathy in SLE: review in the literature apropos of one case.

Among the clinical manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus is an arthropathy, which is usually non-erosive. In many cases, the joint involvement is mild. A subset of patients has deforming, non-erosive Jaccoud's arthropathy, and a minority have an arthropathy with clinical findings similar to rheumatoid arthritis that has been called "rhupus". We report a case of a 48-year-old female rhupus patient. The lack of clinical criteria for this rheumatic condition has created confusion in the characterization of this disorder. Thus, more effort is needed to establish a potential and clear definition for rhupus.