Polyarticular Salmonella bacterial arthritis in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are at increased risk for infections. Insufficiency of the reticuloendothelial system caused either by immunosuppressive therapy or inadequate opsonisation are mechanisms by which Salmonella infections in particular appear in these patients. Salmonella infections can provoke a polyarticular reactive arthritis while Salmonella bacterial arthritis usually is monarticular. We report on the seriousness of a Salmonella infection (enteritis complicated by polyarticular bacterial arthritis) in a patient with SLE.