Lupus-associated chorea in childhood
J. R. Groothuis, D. R. Groothuis, D. Mukhopadhyay, B. J. Grossman and W. A. Altemeier
Chorea associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has been reported
in only 28 patients. The clinical and laboratory features of these cases
are reviewed here, along with those of a 7-year-old boy who, we believe,
represents the youngest child reported to date. In approximately half of
these 29 individuals, most of whom were children, chorea preceded other
manifestations of SLE. The age range and clinical characteristics of
lupus-associated chorea were not appreciably different from those of
Sydenham's chorea and most of the patients in whom chorea developed before
other manifestations of SLE were initially assumed to have Sydenham's
chorea. Systemic lupus erythematosus should especially be considered if
chorea begins in the older child or is associated with a persistently
elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate.
