Dermatomyositis: Analysis of 109 patients surveyed at the Hospital das Clínicas (HCFMUSP),São Paulo,Brazil

Background: dermatomyositis affects striated muscles,skin and other organs. objective: to characterize the disease from january 1992 to december 2002,assessing its classification,cutaneous and systemic manifestations,and also laboratory results,therapeutic and prognostic findings compared to those in the literature. methods: data were obtained from medical records of 109 patients who were classified into five groups: 23 juvenile dermatomyositis; 59 primary idiopathic dermatomyositis; 6 amyopathic dermatomyositis; 7 dermatomyositis associated with neoplasms and 14 dermatomyositis associated with other connective tissue diseases. results: sixty patients were classified as definite diagnosis; 33 as possible four as probable and 12 and as amyopathic. the average age at diagnosis was 36 years. cutaneous manifestations occurred in all patients; the most frequent symptom was loss of proximal muscle strength; the most common pulmonary disorder was interstitial lung disease,and gastritis was the most prevalent digestive manifestation. tumors were documented in 6.42% of cases. lactate dehydrogenase was the muscle enzyme most frequently elevated in the majority of cases. skin biopsies were performed in 68 patients; muscle biopsies in 53; and electroneuromyographies in 58 patients. the most commonly used treatment was corticotherapy and the mortality rate was 14.7%. conclusion: in this sample,the disease appeared in younger individuals,was more frequent in women and the association with cancer was small. © 2014 by anais brasileiros de dermatologia.