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Rituximab in recalcitrant thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura secondary to systemic lupus erythematosus
Author(s) -
HALIM A. G.,
SOEHARDY Z.,
SHAHRIR M. S.,
ROZITA M.,
LOO C. Y.,
RASHIDI S.,
NORELLA KONG C. T.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
international journal of rheumatic diseases
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.795
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1756-185X
pISSN - 1756-1841
DOI - 10.1111/j.1756-185x.2008.00334.x
Subject(s) - medicine , rituximab , thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura , autoantibody , lupus nephritis , immunology , thrombocytopenic purpura , plasmapheresis , systemic lupus erythematosus , cd20 , dermatology , antibody , disease , immune system , platelet
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a typical autoimmune disease with manifestations due to unopposed production of autoantibodies against the patient's own cells. The clinical features are diverse, ranging from musculoskeletal involvement, lupus nephritis to cerebral and even haematological involvement. We report a case of a young woman with known SLE who developed thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) secondary to SLE resistant to conventional treatment with plasma exchange. She was then treated with rituximab (MabThera®), a CD20 monoclonal antibody, and showed remarkable improvement. To our best knowledge this is the first case reporting the use of rituximab in acute resistant TTP secondary to SLE.