When would you consider a diagnosis of peritonitis in a patient with SLE?

Some autopsy studies have suggested high rates of peritonitis in patients with lupus, while the clinical diagnosis of peritonitis is relatively uncommon. Given this discordance, are there any clinical pearls or tools we can use to better diagnose peritonitis in our SLE patients?

Answer from: at Academic Institution

As noted in the question, clinically significant peritonitis is unusual/rare in lupus patients. In 25 years, I have seen two patients I was convinced had lupus peritonitis. The common thread was that both of them had had at least one abdominal surgery for an acute abdomen. The patients were known to...

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at Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS)
Thanks, @Gary. I find the high prevalence in autop...

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