Key result
Polymyositis can trigger fatal ventricular arrhythmias from myocarditis despite weeks of immunosuppressive therapy.
Why the study?
Myocarditis may occur as a late complication of polymyositis despite immunosuppressive therapy, but this is not well characterized.
Case Report (n=1)
Acute myocarditis can occur as a late, fatal complication of polymyositis even when the patient is responding well to immunosuppressive therapy.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
May warrant arrhythmia surveillance during immunosuppression in polymyositis; hypothesis-generating case requiring larger studies.
A patient with definite polymyositis responded clinically to prednisolone in combination with azathioprine, with improvement in muscle strength and normalization of muscle enzyme levels. After 7 weeks' treatment the patient developed chest pain and fatal ventricular arrhythmias. An autopsy showed inflammatory myocarditis, but marked improvement in the skeletal muscle histology. This case illustrates that myocarditis may be a late complication of polymyositis despite immunosuppressive therapy.
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White et al. (1988) conducted a case report in Polymyositis (n=1). Prednisolone and azathioprine was evaluated on Fatal ventricular arrhythmias and inflammatory myocarditis. A patient with polymyositis developed fatal ventricular arrhythmias due to inflammatory myocarditis after 7 weeks of immunosuppressive therapy, illustrating it as a potential late complication.
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