An unusual clinical variant of systemic lupus erythematosus
Switi Jawade, Savita Pohekar
Corresponding author: Switi Jawade, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Nursing, Shalinitai Meghe College of Nursing, Datta Meghe Institute of Higher Education and Research (Deemed to be University), Sawangi, Wardha, Maharashtra, India 
Received: 29 May 2025 - Accepted: 09 Jun 2025 - Published: 29 Oct 2025
Domain: Dermatology
Keywords: Systemic lupus erythematosus, multiorgan involvement, autoimmune disease
Funding: This work received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or non-profit sectors.
©Switi Jawade et al. Pan African Medical Journal (ISSN: 1937-8688). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Cite this article: Switi Jawade et al. An unusual clinical variant of systemic lupus erythematosus. Pan African Medical Journal. 2025;52:86. [doi: 10.11604/pamj.2025.52.86.48125]
Available online at: https://www.panafrican-med-journal.com//content/article/52/86/full
An unusual clinical variant of systemic lupus erythematosus
&Corresponding author
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a complex and systemic autoimmune disease in which a person's own immune system attacks their healthy cells and tissue with multi-organ and central nervous system involvement, such as brain, skin, bones, kidney, joints, lungs and blood vessels. The disease is more common in childbearing age in females; it has been well reported in paediatrics and among the elderly. A 24-year-old female visited the dermatology outpatient department with complaints of a fluid-filled lesion (red colour) over the hand and red lesions on the lower extremities with pedal oedema, burning sensation near the lesion, knee, elbow and wrist joint pain. On physical examination, photosensitive rashes were observed, and laboratory investigation showed the patient had systemic lupus erythematosus. The patient was referred to the dermatology department for further medical management.
Figure 1: A) erythematous fluid-filled lesion over the hand; B) erythematous lesion over the lower extremities




