Bilateral Avascular Necrosis of Hip in Young Malaysian Female with SLE

Avascular necrosis is a noteworthy reason of morbidity in SLE. There are many risk factors associated with osteonecrosis development but among them, corticosteroid treatment is the most common causes. Other factors, for example, fat embolism, thromboembolism, thrombophilia, hypofibrinolysis, vasculitis, increased bone marrow pressure and intramedullary haemorrhage are also associated with steroid-induced therapy [1]. SLE is the chronic inflammatory disease which 90% of cases commonly occur in women with reproductive age group [2].

We would like to report a case of AVN in SLE patient. A 24-year-old lady presented with the history of both hips pain for one year and limitation of hip movement for seven months. Left hip pain was more severe than the right hip. She was diagnosed with SLE four years ago and steroid therapy was initiated for three years.

This case is selected for reporting due to its relatively rare incidence in Malaysia and unusual presentation.