Medline ® Abstract for Reference 49
of 'Diagnosis and differential diagnosis of dermatomyositis and polymyositis in adults'
49
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Dermatomyositis induced by drug therapy: a review of case reports.
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Seidler AM, Gottlieb AB
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J Am Acad Dermatol. 2008 Nov;59(5):872-80. Epub 2008 Jul 14.
BACKGROUND:
Drugs have occasionally been implicated in dermatomyositis (DM) onset.
OBJECTIVE:
We sought to review case reports of drug-induced DM.
METHODS:
Articles were gathered from MEDLINE and bibliographies of acquired reports. Causality was assessed using World Health Organization criteria. Clinical characteristics, management, and resolution were examined.
RESULTS:
In 70 reported cases, 50% of patients were female and the median age was 57 years. Hydroxyurea was implicated in 51% of cases. All cases had pathognomonic (76%) or compatible (24%) cutaneous findings. Hydroxyurea cases lacked myositis, but myositis was described in 79.4% of nonhydroxyurea cases. Drug causality was probable (25.7%) or possible (74.3%), but not certain in any case. Most patients had underlying pathology associated with DM (44% had malignancy; 16% had rheumatoid arthritis). Of the sample, 84.3% had improvement of DM after discontinuation of the drug.
LIMITATIONS:
Case reports may emphasize unusual findings.
CONCLUSIONS:
Further work is needed to differentiate drug effects from underlying, predisposing factors.
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Department of Dermatology, Tufts University School of Medicine and Tufts Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts 02111-1533, USA. anne.seidler@alumni.tufts.edu
PMID