INVASIVE SOFT-TISSUE INFECTIONS WITH STREPTOCOCCUS-PNEUMONIAE IN PATIENTS WITH SYSTEMIC LUPUS-ERYTHEMATOSUS - CASE-REPORT AND REVIEW OF THELITERATURE

Pneumococcal infections of the soft tissues are uncommon, However, pat ients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) mag be predisposed to th is condition, perhaps by virtue of hypocomplementemia and low, nonprot ective concentrations of antipneumococcal antibodies. We report a case of severe cellulitis and fasciitis of the anterior neck in a young wo man with SLE, The literature on SLE and pneumococcal soft tissue infec tions is reviewed, A clinical syndrome of SLE and pneumococcal soft-ti ssue infections of the neck and pharynx is described.