Osteomyelitis and septic arthritis in neonatal lupus erythematosus patients

Osteomyelitis in neonates is quite uncommon and often appears without a typical sign. Clinicians' late diagnosis and inappropriate treatment may result in severe sequelae. We report a rare case of osteomyelitis and septic arthritis infant with a mother's previous medical history of systemic lupus erythematosus at nine years old. Anti Lupus Anticoagulant (LA) result shows the infant also suffers from neonatal lupus erythematosus (NLE). Early diagnosis and proper management of the patient may produce better outcomes. •The association of osteomyelitis with Neonatal Lupus Erythematosus (NLE) is infrequent. It is suspected that the infection triggered by transplacental transmission of maternal autoantibody that cause immune suppression of the bone marrow.•Klebsiella pneumoniae is the most common cause of nosocomial infection and potentially cause septic arthritis. Antibiotic treatement should be initiated early.•Early diagnosis and treatment are critical since osteomyelitis and NLE may directly affect the patient's growth, development, and quality of life in the future.