Coincident thymoma and SLE in an adult female patient : Hickam\'s dictum in practice

Abstract

Author(s): Amirali Salajegheh, Narjes Amirzadeh, Fatemeh Yazdi Yahyaabadi, Toraj Reza Mirshekary, Farzaneh Yazdi

Background: Thymoma is a rare tumour originated in the epithelial cells of the thymus and is often accompanied by Paraneoplastic Syndromes (PNS). While myasthenia gravis is the most common PNS associated with thymoma, thymoma-associated PNS harbor a wide spectrum of autoimmune diseases. Case Presentation: We represent a 42-years-old female patient who presented to the emergency department complaining of dyspnea. Clinical manifestations, along with imaging, histopathology, and serologic testing enabled diagnoses of thymoma and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) in our patient. Conclusion: Thymoma may rarely be complicated by SLE. To bear in mind Hickam’s dictum aids the clinician to accommodate a comprehensive clinical judgement.

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