Musculoskeletal symptoms in systemic lupus erythematosus and their differential diagnosis with rheumatoid arthritis
Wiland, P.
Annales Academiae Medicae Stetinensis 56(Suppl 1): 40-44
2010
ISSN/ISBN: 1427-440X PMID: 21365939 Document Number: 641717
The musculoskeletal system is involved in nearly all patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Transient arthralgias and arthritis are commonly observed. Some patients develop chronic synovitis, which can result in deformities of the joints known as Jaccoud's arthropathy and seen in 10-35% of patients with SLE. Many patients with SLE are initially misdiagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Differentiation of SLE from RA can be done with diagnostic imaging, tests for anticitrullinated peptide antibodies (anti-CCP) and rheumatoid factor, and analysis of the clinical picture. It is important to undertake the differential diagnosis not only in early arthritis but also at later stages of the disease when new clinical symptoms have cast doubt on the diagnosis.