Disseminated intravascular coagulation in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus with lupus anticoagulant.

A 19-year-old female patient with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) who had lupus anticoagulant (LA) and concurrently developed disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) during an exacerbation of "central nervous system (CNS) lupus". Since no other indications or causes for DIC could be demonstrated, she was treated with prednisolone and anticoagulants, which rapidly alleviated her DIC condition as well as "CNS lupus". Although abnormalities of coagulation are frequently reported in SLE patients, DIC rarely occurs in patients with SLE without associated complications. A review of the pathogenesis of DIC in patients with SLE is discussed.