Calciphylaxis in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus without renal insufficiency or hyperparathyroidism.

Calciphylaxis is a frequent entity in patients with chronic renal failure of diverse etiology. The main pathogenic mechanism of calciphylaxis is impairment of either calcium and phosphate metabolism or plasma levels of parathyroid hormone. There are communications of patients with normal renal function, and in some cases with chronic inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and antiphospholipid syndrome. We report a patient with SLE and no renal failure or hyperparathyroidism who developed severe calciphylaxis.