ObjectiveTo study the survival rate and death cause of patients with polymyositis (PM) and dermatomyositis (DM). MethodsBased on the Bohan and Peter diagnosis standard, DM (n=52) and PM (n=98) hospitalized patients between January 1, 2008 and January 1, 2013 were chosen to be followed up to January 2013, or to their death. Sex, age, disease entities, course of the disease, muscle creatine enzyme, interstitial lung disease, connective tissue diseases, lung infection, cardiac involvement, respiratory muscle paralysis, JO-1 antibody, hypoalbuminemia, tumor, and long-term hormone and immune inhibitor treatment were the influencing factors of death. ResultsThirty-eight patients died during the follow-up period, and the 1-, 3- and 5-year survival rate were 87.7%, 74.5% and 55.9% respectively. Cox regression analysis showed that interstitial pneumonia (RR=12.119, P=0.001), heart disease (RR=2.935, P=0.020) and tumor (RR=3.735, P=0.048) were the unfavorable factors of death, while long-term hormones (RR=0.329, P=0.024) and persistent immunosuppressant therapy (RR=0.148, P=0.022) were protective factors. ConclusionThe five-year survival rate of patients with PM/DM is still low, and pulmonary interstitial disease, tumor, cardiac involvement, and pulmonary infection are the major dead causes, while long-team immunosuppression and hormone therapy can decrease the PM/DM mortality.
ObjectiveTo analyze the incidence of heart disease, its clinical manifestations and risk factors in patients with polymyositis (PM) and dermatomyositis (DM). MethodWe collected the clinical data of 138 PM (n=78) and DM (n=60) patients treated between January 2008 and March 2014, among whom there were 64 males and 74 females with an average age of (48.5±19.6) years old, and an average disease course of (84.5±6.9) months. We analyzed their incidence of heart disease, its clinical manifestations and the risk factors. Subsequently, we adopted single-factor analysis to analyze such factors as age, gender, disease course, kinds of disease, creatine kinase (CK), CK-MB, CK-MB/CK, troponin T, antinuclear antibodies, anti-SSA antibody, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, disease activity score, muscle force, pulmonary interstitial lesions and pulmonary artery hypertension. ResultsThere were 59 (42.7%) patients with heart disease, 48 (34.8%) with abnormal electrocardiogram, and 52 (37.7%) with abnormal color Doppler ultrasound results. Logistics multiple factors regression analysis found that the course of the disease (OR=1.669, P=0.010), myositis disease activity score (OR=7.456, P<0.001), pulmonary interstitial lesions (OR=4.568, P=0.014) were risk factor for heart disease in PM/DM patients. ConclusionsLong disease course duration, high myositis activity score and pulmonary interstitial lesions are strong predictors for heart damage in PM/DM patients.