Amrit Tripathi, Ujwal Sah, Saurav Shah, Shivaditya Singh, Surya Raj Nishad
A 28-year-old woman with loculated exudative pleural effusion was diagnosed with SLE and lupus nephritis fulfilling EULAR/ACR criteria, treated with pigtail drainage, corticosteroids, and hydroxychloroquine, with good recovery.
SLE can rarely present with unilateral pleural effusion or hypertension. A 28-year-old woman with loculated exudative pleural effusion was diagnosed with SLE and lupus nephritis fulfilling EULAR/ACR criteria, treated with pigtail drainage, corticosteroids, and hydroxychloroquine, with good recovery. SLE should be considered in unexplained pleural effusion for timely diagnosis.