SHRINKING LUNG SYNDROME DIAGNOSED AND ACCOMPANIED BY PRIMARY CARE - CASE REPORT.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: A Shrinking Lung Syndrome (SLS) is a rare respiratory complication of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) as a result of diaphragm weakening, leading to atelectasis, dyspnea and respiratory failure. The exact mechanism of how the SLS occurs is still unknown. The purpose of this work is to report the case of Shrinking Lung Syndrome diagnosed and accompanied by primary care. METHODS: For this case was used the medical records and patient interview after consent and literature review. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Report the case of a female patient, 36 years old with SLE, whose research in primary care resulted in the diagnosis of SLS. The patient had longstanding SLE treated with prednisone 5mg / day, complaining of dyspnea with diffuse inspiratory wheezing, presented radiograph showing elevated hemidiaphragm with bilateral atelectasis in the standard bases of "shrinking lung." She was treated with prednisone 1 mg / kg / day, hydroxychloroquine, albendazole for 3 days, calcium carbonate, glycemic control, weight control, blood pressure control and concurrent monitoring with rheumatologist who kept conduct. She showed improvement of symptoms and had prednisone dose adjusted to 10mg/day. It concludes that, although rare, the SLS is a disease in which primary care is able to diagnose the presence of dyspnea without heart or hematologic cause, with imaging test showing characteristic changes, and monitoring, reducing costs on public health and preventing unnecessary hospitalizations.