Interstitial cystitis and ileus in pediatric-onset systemic lupus erythematosus

A girl aged 11 years presented with autoimmune hemolytic anemia with thrombocytopenia, and subsequently developed severe abdominal pain, vomiting, and pollakiuria. X-ray findings of her abdomen demonstrated paralytic ileus with intestinal wall thickening. Intravenous pyelography revealed bilateral hydroureter with mild hydronephrosis and contracted bladder. Pathological examination of her bladder revealed interstitial cystitis, with evidence of focal deposition of IgG and C3 in a granular pattern on small blood vessel walls. She was diagnosed as having systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) associated with paralytic ileus and chronic interstitial cystitis. Although initiation of high-dose prednisolone therapy resulted in a gradual improvement in clinical symptoms, reducing the dosage of prednisolone caused a relapse. To our knowledge, the combination of paralytic ileus and chronic interstitial cystitis is quite uncommon in pediatric-onset SLE. Received: 1 September 1999 / Revised: 2 December 1999 / Accepted: 3 December 1999