Facial telangiectasia - An unusual complication of neonatal lupus erythematosus: Report of one case

Neonatal lupus erythematosus (NLE) is an uncommon passive autoimmune disease caused by transplacental passage of anti-Ro/SSA and/or anti-La/SSB or anti-U1RNP maternal autoantibodies. Common clinical manifestations include cutaneous lupus lesions, cardiac disease, notably congenital heart block, hematologic abnormalities, and hepatobiliary disease. The cutaneous lesions of NLE are usually transient, disappearing about six months after birth when maternal antibodies disappear from the infant's circulation. Persistent telangiectasia is a rare complication of NLE. We report a 3-year-old female who had cutaneous lupus with persistent facial telangiectasias over the frontal area. She was diagnosed with NLE at 2 months of age. Her findings then included cutaneous lupus, hemolytic anemia, a high titer of antinuclear antibodies (1:640) with a speckled pattern, positive anti-Ro/SSA and anti-La/SSB antibodies, and absence of anti-dsDNA antibodies. Her mother had systemic lupus erythematosus with the presence of high titer of antinuclear antibodies (1:1260) with a speckled pattern and positive anti-Ro/SSA and anti-La/SSB antibodies. The child's cutaneous lupus and hemolytic anemia disappeared at 6 months of age, but the telangiectasia persisted.