Published in:
01-08-2010 | Case Report
Spontaneous pneumomediastinum secondary to refractory dermatomyositis successfully treated with rituximab
Authors:
Martin A. Lee, David G. Hutchinson
Published in:
Clinical Rheumatology
|
Issue 8/2010
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Abstract
Spontaneous pneumomediastinum has been described in patients with dermatomyositis (DM) and polymyositis (Korkmaz et al., Rheumatology 40:476–478,
2001; Maruoka et al., Mod Rheumatol 16:55–57,
2006; Kono et al., Ann Rheum Dis 59:372–376,
2000; Neves et al., Clin Rheumatol 26:105–107,
2007). Literature reviews suggest that this complication has a mortality of between 27% and 41% ( Kono et al., Ann Rheum Dis 59:372–376,
2000; Neves et al., Clin Rheumatol 26:105–107,
2007; Goff et al., Arthritis Rheum 61:108–118,
2009). This is the first report of rituximab being used successfully as part of the treatment for DM complicated by pneumomediastinum.