Infection with uncommon subgroup Y Neisseria meningitidis in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

The association of Neisseria meningitidis infection and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is uncommon. We describe here three patients with SLE who developed disseminated meningococcal disease. Each patient had longstanding SLE and was receiving treatment with prednisone. Furthermore, each patient showed serum hypocomplementemia at the time of the infection. N. meningitidis Group Y, considered to be an organism of relatively low virulence, was isolated from the blood or cerebrospinal fluid in each case. The patients presented with diverse clinical manifestations of meningococcal disease. The relationship of disseminated meningococcal infections to hypocomplementemia in patients with SLE is discussed in light of a review of the literature.