Recurrent central catheter complications in a newborn: can we blame neonatal lupus?

In the neonatal intensive care unit, the newborn developed central catheter complications in four distinct situations. Congenital heart block is the most serious complication, and it can appear during pregnancy or after birth. 1-3 Also, some infants may manifest haematological, neurological and hepatobiliary abnormalities. 1-3 Less commonly, vascular events such as central nervous system vasculopathy have been documented. 2 The disease can present itself in numerous other ways, some of them atypical forms of already known manifestations. 2 It is crucial to maintain follow-up, since some manifestations can have a late presentation. 3 This case reports a recurrent vascular inflammatory reaction in a newborn with documented NL which, to our knowledge, has not yet been described in the literature. The authors hypothesise a possible pathophysiological association between the passage of maternal autoantibodies and the described vascular events, although caution is needed in establishing causality. Since the range of NL presentation is expanding, 3 reporting similar cases could bring more insight into a potential association between these events and the underlying condition.