Levetiracetam-induced systemic lupus erythematosus.

Praveen Jadhav, Teja Kulkarni, Janhavee Jadhav, Saourabh Desai, Rahul Baviskar

The journal of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh 2021 Mar

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Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a rare autoimmune disorder in a physician's practice, commonly presenting in young females. It is rare for SLE to present at a late age. Though SLE is idiopathic, sometimes it can present as an adverse reaction to drugs. Quite a few drugs are implicated in this process. However, there are no reports of levetiracetam causing SLE. Here, we present a case of 62-year-old female presenting with SLE after consumption of levetiracetam for 1 year for her epilepsy. Erythematosus rash was her main symptom. This was associated with a strong positivity of antinuclear antibody. The symptoms remitted completely after the discontinuation of levetiracetam, suggesting them to be because of drug-induced lupus (DIL). DIL differs from SLE in being mild, affecting atypical age groups and resolving completely on withdrawal of the drug.

Citation

Praveen Jadhav, Teja Kulkarni, Janhavee Jadhav, Saourabh Desai, Rahul Baviskar. Levetiracetam-induced systemic lupus erythematosus. The journal of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. 2021 Mar;51(1):58-60