Intractable hemophagocytic syndrome associated with systemic lupus erythematosus resistant to corticosteroids and intravenous cyclophosphamide that was successfully treated with cyclosporine A

Abstract

Hemophagocytic syndrome (HPS) associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), dubbed acute lupus hemophagocytic syndrome (ALHS), is an intractable complication of SLE. A 24-year-old man who had been diagnosed with SLE three months previously, presented with fever, rash, hallucination, and pancytopenia accompanied with hyperferritinemia and bone marrow hemophagocytosis. He was diagnosed with ALHS and neuropsychiatric (NP)-SLE. Although 4 courses of methylprednisolone pulse therapy and 1 course of intravenous cyclophosphamide (IVCY) improved his NP-SLE, his ALHS did not respond. However, the addition of cyclosporine A (CsA) led to a rapid remission from ALHS. This suggests the usefulness of CsA in the treatment of intractable, corticosteroid-and IVCY-resistant ALHS.