Silent lupus nephritis: a case report

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multiorgan acquired autoimmune disease. The clinical picture can vary greatly. Lupus nephritis (LN), which affects about 50% of SLE patients, is associated with high morbidity and death. While renal histologic alterations are evident in almost all patients with SLE, clinical renal involvement only affects 40% to 75% of those individuals. Because of this, some patients who have nephritis on their renal biopsy may not actually have clinical kidney disease (silent nephritis). In this article, we discuss a case of silent lupus nephritis (SLN) with respect to clinical presentation, laboratory findings, diagnosis and outcome.