Abstract
BackgroundJuvenile Dermatomyositis (JDM) is a pediatric vasculopathy characterized primarily by skin and muscle involvement. Cardiac findings have been reported in children with JDM but have rarely been investigated in detail.MethodsWe aimed to describe the relevant clinical and laboratory cardiac findings of a cohort of patients with JDM, followed at one centre, at disease diagnosis.ResultsWe performed a retrospective review of 105 patients with JDM, followed from 1991 to 2007. Six of 70 patients (9%, 6% of the entire cohort) had abnormal electrocardiographic (ECG) findings, while 26 of 54 patients (48%, 25% of the entire cohort) had abnormal echocardiographic (echo) findings. Many of these findings were either mild or unlikely to be a result of JDM.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that cardiac abnormalities at JDM disease onset are frequently seen, but are rarely significant findings due to disease; however, JDM patients should be considered for screening for cardiac disease as late cardiac complications are well recognized.
Highlights
Juvenile Dermatomyositis (JDM) is a pediatric vasculopathy characterized primarily by skin and muscle involvement
Our results suggest that many JDM patients have abnormal ECG and echo results at first presentation
None of our patients presented with clinically serious cardiac dysfunction, and many of our patients had findings commonly seen in children without JDM, we believe that the high incidence of abnormalities is a reasonable justification for a cardiac work-up at disease onset
Summary
Juvenile Dermatomyositis (JDM) is a pediatric vasculopathy characterized primarily by skin and muscle involvement. Cardiac findings have been reported in children with JDM but have rarely been investigated in detail. Six of 70 patients (9%, 6% of the entire cohort) had abnormal electrocardiographic (ECG) findings, while 26 of 54 patients (48%, 25% of the entire cohort) had abnormal echocardiographic (echo) findings Many of these findings were either mild or unlikely to be a result of JDM. Juvenile Dermatomyositis (JDM) is characterized by a small vessel vasculopathy affecting children, characterized primarily by skin and muscle involvement. From Europe and Latin America 27 centers participated in this multicentre study, and 490 patients’ data was collected They found that the cumulative frequency of damage to the cardiovascular system was 2.9% for 445 patients. Specific cardiac pathology and/or ECG and echo findings were not described in that study
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