OBJECTIVE: The main objective of the present study was to describe a series of nine cases of renal tuberculosis (TB) in patients diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) over a period of six years at a tertiary-level hospital in Northeastern Brazil. METHODS: Nine SLE patients with renal TB confirmed by bacterioscopy (n=4) or urine culture (n=5) positive for M. tuberculosis between October 1998 and November 2004 were sampled from the records of the microbiology department of Hospital Universitário Walter Cantídio. Data were collected regarding demographics, SLE and renal TB. RESULTS: All patients were female, aged between 19 and 58 years and had a history of lupus nephritis. Three had been on cyclophosphamide therapy prior to TB infection. The average dose of prednisone administered before the diagnosis of renal TB ranged between 7.5 and 20 mg/day. The most common laboratory findings were leukocyturia and hematuria. Renal TB recurred in four patients. CONCLUSION: The occurrence of renal TB in SLE patients should be suspected in the presence of persistent sterile pyuria and/or hematuria, especially in developing countries.
lupus; tuberculosis; renal; extra-pulmonary; infection
