Clinical Study of 52 Patients with Adult-onset Dermatomyositis

Jung, In Soon; Yun, Sook Jung; Lee, Jee Bum; Kim, Seong Jin; Lee, Seung Chul; Won, Young Ho

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Dermatomyositis is one of the idiopathic inflammatory myopathies, characterized by unique cutaneous features. Unfortunately, there is little data regarding the clinical features of dermatomyositis in Korea patients.
OBJECTIVE
The study aimed to analyze the clinical features of Korean patients with adult-onset dermatomyositis.
METHODS
A total of 52 patients from 2002 to 2016 were analyzed retrospectively. Clinical features such as sex, age, symptoms, associated connective tissue disorders and malignancy were studied using medical records.
RESULTS
The mean onset age was 43.4 years, and the male to female ratio was 1 : 1.9. Forty-two patients (80.8%) were classified as having dermatomyositis, and 8 patients (15.4%), as having amyopathic dermatomyositis. Skin rash (94.2%) was the most common clinical feature, followed by proximal muscle weakness (61.5%), itching (55.8%), arthralgia (36.5%), and muscle pain (32.7%). Among skin rashes, symmetric violaceous erythema (67.3%) was the most frequent, followed by heliotrope rash (63.5%) and Gottron's papule (59.6%). Serum aldolase level was elevated in 77.8%, and LDH in 69.6%. The prevalence of malignancy (23.1%) was similar to that in previous studies. Cervical cancer made up 25% (3/12) of the associated malignancies, followed by ovarian cancer and lung cancer (16.7%). Ten patients (19.2%) had other accompanying connective tissue diseases.
CONCLUSION
To date, this is the first large-scale case study that analyzed the clinical features of Korean patients with adult-onset dermatomyositis.