Peracute disseminated fatal Aspergillus fumigatus sepsis as a complication of corticoid-treated systemic lupus erythematosus.

Immunocompromised and granulocytopenic patients and those receiving long-term or high-dose corticoid treatment are predisposed to disseminating Aspergillus infections. However, Aspergillus infection has been described only rarely in patients with autoimmune diseases. We report on a woman suffering from systemic lupus erythematosus treated by antibiotics and high-dose corticosteroids, a primary risk factor, who developed a peracute disseminated fatal Aspergillus fumigatus infection involving the central nervous system. The present case is compared with 10 previous reports of invasive aspergillosis in systemic lupus erythematosus found by a literature search.