Thyroid involvement in systemic lupus erythematosus

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a rare disease in childhood, and is characterized by widespread inflammation of blood vessels and connective tissue. Although the disease affects a number of different organs, thyroid involvement is not included in the classification criteria set of SLE. We describe two cases of irls with SLE who developed thyroiditis with goitre, thyroid autoantibodies, elevated serum TSH and decreased thyroid function tests. One patient had thyroiditis eighteen months before SLE was diagnosed and the other developed thyroiditis six months after the onset of SLE. Recent prospective studies have shown that thyroid involvement in SLE presenting either as hyper- or hypothyroidism is more common among children than adults. We therefore recommend that thyroid function tests should regularly be performed in juvenile SLE patients and, conversely, that child patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis should be examined for symptoms and serology of SLE.