OBJECTIVETo acquire more knowledge about neonatal lupus erythematosus (NLE).

METHODSeven cases with neonatal lupus erythematosus who were seen in this hospital from 1990 to 2009 are reported in this paper and 87 cases reported previously from 1980 to now in China were reviewed. The clinical manifestations, serum autoantibodies, treatment and results of long-term follow-up are analyzed and summarized.

RESULTTotally 94 cases were summarized. Male/female ratio was 48/46; 73 cases had skin rash; 23 had heart abnormality, among whom 13 had cardiac conductive problems including 8 cases of atrioventricular blockage (AVB) (3 degree I, 3 degree II and 2 degree III) and 5 cases of right bundle branch block cases (RBBB). Nine cases had anatomical abnormality including 5 cases of atrial septal defect (ASD), 2 cases of ventricular septal defect (VSD) and 2 cases of atrial enlargements. Forty-four cases had hematological problems including 28 with thrombocytopenia, 11 with leukocytopenia and 34 with anemia. Thirty cases had hepatic abnormality, including 24 liver dysfunction, 22 hepatomegaly, 6 splenomegaly and 3 cholestasis. Three cases had nephropathy; 3 had elevated creatine kinase; 2 had nervous disorder. Among the 94 cases, 86 (91.5%) were positive for anti-SSA, 51 (54.3%) anti-SSB, 16 anti-ds-DNA, 14 anti-U1-RNP, 13 anti-Sm (+), 6 anti-RNP and 4 anti-rRNP(+). Among the corresponding mothers, 39 cases (44.8%) were asymptomatic before pregnancy, 35 had SLE, 5 had SCLE, 3 had Sjogren syndrome, 2 had chilblain, photosensitivity and arthralgia, respectively, 1 had rheumatoid arthritis and 1 had psoriasis. During pregnancy, 8 mothers developed SLE. Totally 48 mothers (51.1%) suffered from LE. Together with 15 mothers who had transient skin rash during the pregnancy, there were 23 mothers (59%) who had new clinical manifestation among the 39 asymptomatic mothers. Twenty NLE cases accepted glucocorticoid treatment, 4 of them were treated with intravenous immunoglobulin. Sixty-eight cases were followed up for up to 12 years, 58 cases were healthy, 5 cases improved and 3 died. Two cases still had grade III AVB without pacemaker.

CONCLUSIONNLE is a rare acquired autoimmune disease. Although nearly half of the mothers were asymptomatic before pregnancy, more than half of them developed LE or other symptoms. The clinical presentations in Chinese cases include a transient rash, cardiac lesion while grade III AVB was rare, hematological changes and liver impairments which were common but not serious. Anti-SSA and/or anti-SSB were the most related autoantibody. Most patients with NLE have relatively good prognosis.