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Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the clinical and laboratory features of acute benign myositis associated with influenza A virus infection in children., Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical data of 118 children with acute benign myositis associated with influenza A virus infection who were admitted to the Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University during the epidemic period of influenza A from February 2023 to May 2023., Results: (1) Most of the 118 children were preschool- or school-age. The most common symptom was sudden lower limb pain after fever, and bilateral calf myalgia was more common. The muscle enzyme spectrum ranged from 187.21 to 32191.00 μg/L (median: 3053 μg/L). Creatine kinase isoenzymes ranged from 5.15 to 749.7 μg/L (median 41.82 μg/L). Myoglobin ranged from 102.79 to 1200 μg/L (median 674.9 μg/L). (3) Examination: electromyography, muscle color Doppler ultrasound, radiograph and cardiac color Doppler ultrasound in Benign acute childhood myositis in children were rarely positive. (4) Treatment and prognosis: besides bed rest and a reduction of physical activity, oseltamivir treatment, drugs to improve energy metabolism, fluid replacement and alkalinization of symptomatic treatment. All children had a good prognosis without sequelae., Conclusions: This study summarized and analyzed the clinical characteristics of acute benign myositis associated with influenza A infection in children with the aim of allowing rapid and early diagnosis of the disease and reducing unnecessary diagnostic tests and treatments. Closely monitoring myalgia and the muscle enzyme spectrum is recommended to exclude other neuromuscular and metabolic diseases., Competing Interests: The authors have no funding or conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Data with fine granularity about COVID-19-related outcomes and risk factors were still limited in the idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs) population. This study aimed to investigate clinical factors associated with hospitalized and severe COVID-19 in patients with IIMs, particularly those gauged by myositis-specific antibodies., Methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted in the Renji IIM cohort in Shanghai, China, under an upsurge of SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant infections from December 2022 to January 2023. Clinical data were collected and analyzed by multivariable logistic regression to determine risk factors. High-dimensional flow cytometry analysis was performed to outline the immunological features., Results: Among 463 infected patients in the eligible cohort (n=613), 65 (14.0%) were hospitalized, 19 (4.1%) suffered severe COVID-19, and 10 (2.2%) died. Older age (OR=1.59/decade, 95% CI 1.18 to 2.16, p=0.003), requiring family oxygen supplement (2.62, 1.11 to 6.19, 0.028), patients with anti-synthetase syndrome (ASyS) (2.88, 1.12 to 7.34, 0.027, vs. other dermatomyositis), higher IIM disease activity, and prednisone intake >10mg/day (5.59, 2.70 to 11.57, <0.001) were associated with a higher risk of hospitalization. Conversely, 3-dose inactivated vaccination reduced the risk of hospitalization (0.10, 0.02 to 0.40, 0.001, vs. incomplete vaccination). Janus kinase inhibitor (JAKi) pre-exposure significantly reduced the risk of severe COVID-19 in hospitalized patients (0.16, 0.04 to 0.74, 0.019, vs. csDMARDs). ASyS patients with severe COVID-19 had significantly reduced peripheral CD4+ T cells, lower CD4/CD8 ratio, and fewer naive B cells but more class-switched memory B cells compared with controls., Conclusion: ASyS and family oxygen supplement were first identified as risk factors for COVID-19-related hospitalization in patients with IIMs. JAKi pre-exposure might protect IIM patients against severe COVID-19 complications., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision, (Copyright © 2024 Wu, Wang, Xie, Chen, Teng, Sun, Xu, Fu, Ma, Xu, Lyu, Ye, Li, Zhang, Shen, Wang, Ye and Fu.)

Objectives: The purpose was to clarify the characteristics of interstitial lung disease (ILD) in immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy (IMNM) patients with anti-signal recognition particle (SRP) antibodies., Methods: Medical records of IMNM patients with anti-SRP antibodies were reviewed retrospectively., Results: A total of 60 patients were identified. Twenty-seven (45.0%) patients were diagnosed with ILD based on lung imaging: nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP) in 17 patients (63.0%) and organizing pneumonia in 9 patients (33.3%). Reticulation pattern was identified in 17 patients (63.0%) whereas 10 cases (37.0%) showed ground glass opacity and patchy shadows by high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT). Pulmonary function tests (PFTs) were available in 18 patients, 6 (33.3%) and 10 (55.6%) patients were included in the mild and moderate group, respectively. The average age at the time of ILD onset was significantly older than those without ILD (48.6 ± 14.4 years vs. 41.2 ± 15.4 years, p < 0.05), and the frequency of dysphagia in the ILD group was higher than the group without ILD (p < 0.05). Long-term follow-up was available on 9 patients. PFTs were stable in 8 (88.9%), and the HRCT remained stable in 6 (66.7%) patients., Conclusions: ILD is not rare in IMNM patients with anti-SRP antibodies, most being characterized as mild to moderate in severity. NSIP is the principal radiologic pattern, and ILD typically remains stable following treatment., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Aim: To investigate the risk factors for interstitial lung disease (ILD) and prognosis in patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathy (IIM)., Methods: A retrospective longitudinal study was performed in patients diagnosed with IIM between January 2012 and December 2018., Results: The study cohort included 91 men and 195 women who were classified as having dermatomyositis (DM, n = 183), polymyositis (PM, n = 77), or clinical amyopathic DM (CADM, n = 26). ILD was identified in 46.5% (n = 133) of patients with IIM. The independent risk factors for ILD were age at disease onset, presence of anti-Ro-52 antibody, Gottron's papules, elevated serum immunoglobulin M levels and hypoalbuminemia. Older age at disease onset, ILD, malignancy, and increased serum aspartate aminotransferase and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) were identified as the independent predictors for mortality, whereas elevated serum albumin level was associated with a better prognosis. A total of 73 deaths (25.5%) occurred after a median follow-up time of 33 months. Infection (49.3%) was the leading cause of death. In the overall cohort, the 1-year, 5-year and cumulative survival rates were 83.2%, 74.2% and 69.4%, respectively. The receiver operating characteristic curve indicated that the optimal cut-off value of NLR for predicting death in IIM was 6.11., Conclusion: IIM patients have a poor prognosis with substantial mortality, especially in patients who have older age at onset, ILD, malignancy and higher NLR. Close monitoring and aggressive therapies are required in patients having poor predictive factors., (© 2021 The Authors. International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases published by Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

This study sought to evaluate clinical features, treatment patterns, and outcomes of patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathy (IIM) complicated by heart failure (HF). Thirty-two patients with IIM-HF admitted to the Peking Union Medical College Hospital between January 1999 and January 2018 were retrospectively reviewed, including 14 patients with polymyositis, 11 with dermatomyositis, and 7 with overlap syndrome. Survivors and no-survivors were compared on clinical characteristics and treatment. Although systemic symptoms were variable, all patients presented with elevated troponin I. Rapid atrial arrhythmia was the most frequent arrhythmia. Systolic dysfunction and restrictive diastolic dysfunction were typical presentations in echocardiography. Twenty-nine patients were followed up for a median of 2.8 years (0.1 month to 11 years). We recorded 13 deaths of cardiogenic cause, 1 of serious IIM, and 3 of infective complications. The median survival time from diagnosis of IIM-HF to all-cause mortality was 8.4 months (range from 1 month to 5 years). Both all-cause deaths and cardiogenic deaths were more reported in the methotrexate-alone group than in the combination therapy group (6/7 versus 3/10, P = 0.050; 5/6 versus 2/9, P = 0.041). Combination therapy including methotrexate (HR = 0.188, 95%CI 0.040-0.871, P = 0.033) and taking β-receptor blockers (HR = 0.249, 95%CI 0.086-0.719, P = 0.010) was associated with reduced risk of all-cause deaths. In conclusion, elevated troponin I, atrial arrhythmia, and systolic and restrictive diastolic dysfunction are typical characteristics of IIM-HF. Combined immunosuppression that includes methotrexate and β-receptor blockers seems to be important to improve survival.

Autoantibodies in patients with myositis may associate with specific clinical manifestations. This study aimed to identify a subset of patients with myositis carrying antinuclear matrix protein 2 (anti-NXP-2) antibodies using an unlabeled immunoprecipitation (IP) assay, and clarify the features of these patients in a Chinese cohort. We developed novel methods for unlabeled protein IP and immunoblotting of Myc-tagged truncated NXP-2 fragments for anti-NXP-2 detection. The sera of 120 Chinese adult patients with myositis were screened for anti-NXP-2 by IP and immunoblot. Anti-NXP-2 antibodies were detected in 10 of the 120 patients (8.3%) using the established unlabeled protein IP and immunoblotting, with 70% (7/10) exhibiting either heliotrope rash or Gottron's papules. All 10 anti-NXP-2-positive patients exhibited myopathy and 60% complained of dysphagia. Severe diffuse calcinosis (10%) and nasopharyngeal carcinoma (10%) were each only present in single anti-NXP-2-positive patients with myositis. Antibodies against Ro-52 were found in four living but not in three deceased anti-NXP-2-positive patients. A comprehensive review of 13 anti-NXP-2 studies demonstrated markedly lower anti-NXP-2 prevalence among adult patients with myositis and lower association of anti-NXP-2 with calcinosis in Japan, China, and Hungary than in the USA and Italy. Anti-NXP-2 antibody association with internal malignancy in adult patients varied from 0 to 50% across different studies. A novel IP assay was developed to detect patients with myositis expressing anti-NXP-2. Calcinosis and malignancy are rare in Chinese adult patients with myositis positive for anti-NXP-2. Literature review indicated highest anti-NXP-2 prevalence and association of anti-NXP-2 with calcinosis in US and Italian myositis cohorts.

Background: Little is known about the clinical features and true survival risk factors in Chinese Han population. We conducted the current study to investigate the clinical features, long-term outcome and true potential indicators associated with mortality of idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM) in China., Methods: We restrospectvely investigated 188 patients diagnosed with IIM at our hospital from January 1986 to April 2009. The primary outcome was determined with mortality. The secondary outcomes for survival patients were organ damage and disease activity, health status, and disability, which were assessed with Myositis Damage Index, Myositis Disease Activity Assessment Visual Analogue Scales, Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index, and the Modified Rankin Scale, respectively. Potential prognostic factors for mortality were analyzed with the multivariate Cox regression model., Results: Mean age at disease onset was 43.8 ± 15.8 years and male to female ratio was 1:2.1 in this cohort. The 1-, 5-, 10-, 15- and 20-year survival rates were 93.6%, 88.7%, 81%, 73.6% and 65.6%. The independent predicators for mortality were age at disease onset [hazard ratio (HR):1.05, 95% CI 1.02 - 1.08], presence of cancer (HR:3.68, 95%CI 1.39 - 9.74), and elevated IgA level at diagnosis (HR:2.80, 95% CI 1.16-6.74). At the end of the follow-up, 29 patients manifested drug withdrawal within an average 4.1 years (range 0.5-15.2 year), most patients (85.9%) had no disease activity and 130 patients (83.4%) had no disability., Conclusions: The long-term outcomes of IIM patients in our cohort have improved dramatically. Those patients most likely to survive had a high chance of reaching stable disease status, and obtained long-term or possibly permanent remission to a large extent.