Clinical profile, laboratory parameters and management outcomes in an eight-year-old female with childhood lupus nephritis

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic, multisystem, autoimmune disorder characterized by widespread inflammation of connective tissues affecting the skin, joints, kidneys, heart, lungs and nervous system. SLE is most often diagnosed in women during the second to fourth decades of life, but 15-20% cases are found in childhood. Renal involvement occurs in the majority of childhood onset SLE (cSLE) patients and is often fatal and hence constitutes an important determinant of prognosis. Multidisciplinary care is necessary for children with lupus nephritis in terms of immunosuppressive regimes with a common goal of achieving and maintaining renal remission. Despite a low prevalence rate of cSLE, it manifests with fatal complications like lupus nephritis in majority of cases. Renal biopsy is gold standard for staging of lupus nephritis, thus, deciding the modality of management and prognostication of cSLE.