Pregnancy-associated systemic lupus erythematosus.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease that classically manifests itself with fever, arthralgia, and rash, predominantly in women of childbearing age. The autoimmunity is against nuclear and cytoplasmic components; therefore, any organ system can be affected, and the clinical presentation spectrum is wide. Although rare, de novo SLE can be diagnosed in pregnancy. Herein, a woman who had SLE diagnosed in early pregnancy is reported. This and a previous report imply that SLE has diverse clinical presentations in pregnancy.