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

Korean J Intern Med. 2000 Jan;15(1):85-8. doi: 10.3904/kjim.2000.15.1.85.

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.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Azathioprine / administration & dosage
  • Biopsy, Needle
  • Creatine Kinase / blood*
  • Cryptogenic Organizing Pneumonia / diagnosis*
  • Cryptogenic Organizing Pneumonia / pathology
  • Dermatomyositis / diagnosis*
  • Dermatomyositis / drug therapy
  • Dermatomyositis / enzymology
  • Dermatomyositis / pathology
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Humans
  • Middle Aged
  • Prednisone / administration & dosage
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Substances

  • Creatine Kinase
  • Azathioprine
  • Prednisone