Chen IJ, Tsai WP, Wu YJ et al. Rheumatology (Oxford) 2010;49:2429–37.
Infections in polymyositis and dermatomyositis, particularly pulmonary and opportunistic infections, can occur at a high frequency and are associated with reduced survival. Patients with risk factors for infection (age >45 years, the presence of arthritis/arthalgia or interstitial lung disease, and use of azathioprine or intravenous immunoglobulins) should therefore be carefully followed up.
Besides cardiac, pulmonary, and cancer involvement, infections are common causes of death in polymyositis (PM) and dermatomyositis (DM). The present study aimed to characterize infectious manifestations and their predictors in PM/DM. The medical records of 192 patients with PM (n=79) or DM (n=113) were retrospectively analyzed for major infection history and demographic, clinical, and therapeutic characteristics. The 192 PM/DM patients consisted of 64 males and 128 females with a mean (± standard deviation) age at disease onset of 47.2 (±18.6) years. The mean duration of follow-up was 3.6 years. Twenty-seven patients (14.1%) had co-presentation of systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, or systemic sclerosis. Major infections were defined as those treated for >1 week with antimicrobial agents.