A 43-year-old man with antisynthetase syndrome presenting with acute worsening of dyspnea

Chest. 2015 Jun;147(6):e215-e219. doi: 10.1378/chest.14-2402.

Abstract

A 43-year-old man with antisynthetase syndrome was seen in our pulmonary clinic for worsening dyspnea. He was recently diagnosed with antisynthetase syndrome because he had nonspecific interstitial pneumonitis on a surgical lung biopsy and polymyositis associated with anti-Jo-1 and anti-SSA-52 autoantibodies. Along with his worsening dyspnea, he also had a dry cough, lower extremity edema, and abdominal distension. He had gained 11 kg over 1 month. He had been taking prednisone 40 mg daily 2 months prior, which had been recently weaned to 20 mg daily. He had also been on mycophenolate mofetil but had recently discontinued it on his own.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived / therapeutic use
  • Biopsy
  • Disease Progression*
  • Dyspepsia / drug therapy
  • Dyspepsia / etiology*
  • Humans
  • Lung / pathology
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Male
  • Myocarditis / complications*
  • Myocarditis / diagnosis*
  • Myocarditis / drug therapy
  • Myocardium / pathology
  • Myositis / complications*
  • Myositis / drug therapy
  • Rituximab
  • Steroids / therapeutic use
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived
  • Steroids
  • Rituximab

Supplementary concepts

  • Antisynthetase syndrome