Clinical significance of HScore and MS score comparison in the prognostic evaluation of anti-MDA5-positive patients with dermatomyositis and interstitial lung disease

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the clinical significance of the HScore and MS score in the prognosis of anti-melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (MDA5) positive patients with dermatomyositis (DM) and interstitial lung disease (ILD). METHODS: The clinical features as well as HScore and MS score were compared between the survivors (n = 61) and nonsurvivors (n = 36) among 97 anti-MDA5-positive DM-ILD patients. Potential prognostic factors were analysed. RESULTS: Compared with survivors, nonsurvivors had significantly older age, tended to be male, and had a significantly higher frequency of fever at disease onset, higher levels of aspartate transaminase, lactate dehydrogenase, and serum ferritin, as well as higher values of HScore and MS score but had a significantly lower frequency of arthritis at disease onset. Multivariate analysis revealed that age ≥50 years [hazard ratio (HR) = 2.70, p = .040, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.05-6.97)], male gender (HR = 3.20, p = .017, 95% CI 1.23-8.28), and higher HScore (HR = 3.72, p = .003, 95% CI 1.56-8.86) were independent risk factors for mortality. Patients with more risk factors had significantly poorer survival (p < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Older age, high HScore, and male gender are risk factors for poor survival among anti-MDA5-positive DM-ILD patients, suggesting the potential role of macrophage activation in the pathogenesis.