http://www.fpnotebook.com/

Primary Idiopathic Polymyositis

See Also
1. Polymyositis
2. Dermatomyositis
Pathophysiology
1. Group I of Polymyositis disorders (accounts for 33%)
Epidemiology
1. Incidence higher in women by ratio of 2:1
Course
1. Insidiously progressive over weeks to years
Symptoms: Proximal limb weakness
1. Hip and Thigh weakness (Most significant)
  1. Difficult rising from seated/kneeling position
  2. Difficult climbing/descending stairs
  3. Unable to walk (5%)
2. Shoulder Muscle Weakness
  1. Difficulty reaching overhead (e.g. combing hair)
3. Buttock, thigh, or calf aching (10%)
  1. Tenderness to palpation (20%)
Symptoms: Other
1. Dysphagia (25%)
2. Weakness of extensor neck muscles
3. Respiratory Impairment (5%)
4. Cardiac involvement (30%)
  1. Electrocardiogram (EKG) change or arrhythmia
  2. Congestive Heart Failure secondary to Myocarditis
Signs
1. Proximal Muscle Weakness
2. Distal muscle sparing in 75%
3. Muscles tender to palpation with signs of atrophy
4. Gait slow and waddling
Differential Diagnosis
1. See Polymyositis Differential Diagnosis
Evaluation
1. See Polymyositis Evaluation
Management
1. See Polymyositis Management
References
1. Koler (2001) Am Fam Physician 64(9):1565

Navigation Tree

Please see the Terms and Conditions. Please also see the privacy statement regarding advertising on this page. Although access to this page is not restricted, the information found here is intended for use by medical providers. Patients should address specific medical concerns with their physicians.

This page was written by Scott Moses, MD. This page was last revised before 5/10/08, prior to consistent tracking of revision date. This page was last published on 6/1/2008. Please send comments and questions to the editor. Contact information may be found on the page About the Family Practice Notebook. These pages are best viewed with Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0.