Wiem Romdhane*, Maissa Thabet, Ahmed Guiga, Wissal Ben Yahia, Amira Atig and Neirouz Ghannouchi

Internal Medicine Department, Farhat Hached University Hospital, Tunisia

*Corresponding Author: Wiem Romdhane, Internal Medicine Department, Farhat Hached University Hospital, Tunisia.

Received: June 25, 2024; Published: September 24, 2024

Abstract

Longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis (LETM) is a rare and devastating type of Transverse myelitis (TM) that involves at least three contiguous vertebrae on T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). It occurs in different infectious, traumatic and autoimmune diseases such as Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Herein, we report a case of lupus flare with a severe outcome as LETM with literature review. A 32-year-old woman with eleven-year-history of well controlled SLE, was hospitalized in our department with chronic fever evolving for two months and appearing 48 hours after uncomplicated vaginal delivery. The patient experienced tetra paresis with paresthesia and urinary retention. MRI of the spine showed intramedullary T2–weighted hyper-intense signals extended longitudinally to more than 9 vertebral segments and enlargement of the spinal cord, suggestive of LETM. Cerebral MRI in axial flair image showed nonspecific bilateral fronto-parietal white matter hyperintensities. The patient received methylprednisolone 1 g/day for 5 days, relayed by oral prednisolone 1 mg/kg/d and cyclophosphamide (1g/month) during 6 months with functional physiotherapy. The evolution was marked by a complete regression of paresis and paresthesia in limbs and urinary sphincter disorder.

Keywords: Longitudinally Extensive Transverse Myelitis; Transverse Myelitis; Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

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Citation

Citation: Wiem Romdhane., et al. “Longitudinally Extensive Transverse Myelitis in a Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Patient". Acta Scientific Clinical Case Reports 5.10 (2024): 21-24.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2024 Wiem Romdhane., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.