Pediatric systemic lupus erythematosus and neonatal lupus.

The clinical manifestations of pediatric systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are similar to those seen in adults with SLE with increased frequency of the following features: hepatosplenomegaly, chorea, nephritis, and avascular necrosis. Similarly, pediatric SLE patients are now showing the same improvement in survival as adult SLE patients, and it is no longer felt that the course of childhood-onset SLE is more severe than that seen in adult-onset SLE. Children of mothers with SLE can develop both transient and persistent features of SLE in the neonatal period. Transient features include photosensitive discoid rash, cytopenia, hepatosplenomegaly, myocarditis, and pericarditis; the permanent features include congenital complete heart block, endomyocardial fibroelastosis, and other structural cardiac defects.