Fathi M et al. – Interstitial lung disease (ILD) associated with polymyositis (PM) and dermatomyositis (DM) is in most cases mild, chronic, and has a nonprogressive course during immunosuppressive treatment. Patients with ILD need careful evaluation of clinical features as well as pulmonary function test (PFT) and radiologic features during followup. Methods
Study to estimate predictors and long-term outcome of ILD in pts with polymyositis PM/DM
Newly diagnosed PM/DM pts were investigated with repeated chest radiography, high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) of the lungs, and PFT
Clinical, radiologic, and lung function outcome was based on the last f/u results
Results
23 pts with a mean f/u period of 35 mos were included
Findings on radiographic examination and/or PFT compatible with ILD were recorded in 78%
Pts with ILD had lower lung function, higher radiologic scores, and higher creatine kinase values than those without ILD
All pts were treated with high-dose glucocorticoids and other immunosuppressive agents
2 pts died due to ILD, both with active myositis
During the f/u total lung capacity (TLC) improved in 33%, remained stable in 39%, and deteriorated in 28%
Changes in TLC correlated only partially with HRCT findings, which persisted even after normalizing for lung function
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