skip to main content

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus — SCE Dermatology MCQ

Instant feedback + full explanation. One question, done properly.

HardConnective Tissue & VasculitisSystemic Lupus ErythematosusSCE Dermatology

Direct immunofluorescence from clinically uninvolved sun-protected skin shows granular immunoglobulin and complement at the basement membrane zone. How should this lupus-band finding be interpreted?

Educational content. Not a substitute for clinical judgement or local policy.

Reveal the answer and explanation

Correct answer: B — A supportive but non-specific lupus-band finding requiring clinical correlation

The best answer is “A supportive but non-specific lupus-band finding requiring clinical correlation”. Granular basement-membrane immunoreactants in uninvolved skin can support systemic lupus in the right setting, but the test lacks sufficient specificity to establish SLE without clinical and laboratory correlation. The alternatives “A finding diagnostic of systemic lupus by itself”, “A finding that excludes cutaneous lupus, when the full phenotype supports it”, “A pattern specific for dermatomyositis, within an appropriate UK pathway”, “A result proving active lupus nephritis, after clinicopathological correlation” are clinically adjacent possibilities, but they do not fit the defining morphology, distribution, histopathology, risk signal or management sequence in this stem.

Reference: DermNet specialist cutaneous lupus reference: https://dermnetnz.org/topics/cutaneous-lupus-erythematosus