Korean J Intern Med.  2000 Jan;15(1):85-88.

Dermatomyositis without elevation of creatine kinase presented as bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia

• Lee YH
• Choi SJ
• Ji JD
• Shim JJ
• Kang KH
• Cho HD
• Kim HK
• Song GG

Abstract

A case of dermatomyositis presented as bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia has been rarely reported. We describe a 46-year-old female patient with dermatomyositis without elevation of creatine kinase presented as bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia. She was treated with prednisolone and azathioprine. Over a 2-year follow-up she has had no elevation of creatine kinase. The patient remains asymptomatic and has no medication for dermatomyositis and bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia two years after initial treatment. It has been suggested that the prognosis of dermatomyositis without creatine kinase elevation may be poor. Because the prognosis of bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia is generally believed to be good, we tentatively suggest that the normal value of creatine kinase in dermatomyositis does not always seem to herald a poor prognosis, an associated malignancy or severe interstitial lung disease.

Keyword

Dermatomyositis; Bronchiolitis Obliterans Organizing Pneumonia

MeSH Terms

Azathioprine/administration +ACY- dosage
Biopsy, Needle
Bronchiolitis Obliterans Organizing Pneumonia/pathology
Bronchiolitis Obliterans Organizing Pneumonia/diagnosis+ACo-
Case Report
Creatine Kinase/blood+ACo-
Dermatomyositis/pathology
Dermatomyositis/enzymology
Dermatomyositis/drug therapy
Dermatomyositis/diagnosis+ACo-
Diagnosis, Differential
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Human
Middle Age
Prednisone/administration +ACY- dosage
Tomography, X-Ray Computed