Acute Polymyositis/systemic Lupus Erythematosus Overlap Syndrome with Severe Subcutaneous Edema and Interstitial Lung Disease

Abstract

J o u r n a l o f R h e u m a t i c D i s e a s e s V o l . 2 1 , N o . 1 , F e b r u a r y , 2 0 1 4 http://dx.Inflammatory myopathy is characterized by symmetrical proximal muscle weakness, elevated muscle enzyme levels and favorable response to glucocorticoids therapy. Although periorbital edema is a common manifestation of inflammatory myopathy, generalized subcutaneous edema is very rare. We report here a case of a 47-year-old female patient with acute polymyositis/systemic lupus eryth-ematosus overlap syndrome with generalized subcutaneous edema and interstitial lung disease. We aggressively treated the disease with high-dose glucocorticoids, intravenous immunoglobulin, and immunosuppressive agents.

SLE / Polymyositis Overlap Syndrome

“…Clinically, a patient can present with acute or subacute onset muscle weakness of different pattern, often accompanied by raised creatinine kinase (CK) 1 . In severe cases, respiratory and oesophageal muscles can be affected 11 . The diagnosis of IM requires careful clinical evaluation paired with serological markers, neurophysiological testing and muscle biopsy.…”