Association of subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus in a rheumatoid arthritis patient with Sjögren's syndrome

In this paper, we report a case of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with Sjögren's syndrome (SS) in which the patient developed subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus (SCLE). A 72-year-old woman, who had a 10-year history of RA and SS, developed annular erythematosus skin lesions involving her face, neck, and extremities. Serological tests showed that anti-SS-A/Ro antibodies and anti-DNA antibodies were elevated. Histological examination of the skin lesions demonstrated the liquefaction degeneration of the epidermal basal layer and perivascular mononuclear cell infiltration. The diagnosis of SCLE was made based on the clinical features and skin histological findings. The disease was well controlled with intralesional and systemic corticosteroids and became quiescent. This case report demonstrates the concurrence of sero-positive RA, SS, and SCLE, which seems to be quite rare.