Acute pancreatitis: an early manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus.

Acute pancreatitis is thought to be quite uncommon in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), especially if it is the initial manifestation of the disease. We report a 13-year-old girl with SLE whose early clinical presentation was acute pancreatitis. The disease was not related to concomitant drug therapy. It was associated with elevated serum and urine amylase levels and pancreatic enlargement by ultrasound assessment. The clinical symptoms and signs subsided after prednisolone treatment.