Characterization of patients with dermatomyositis in a university hospital in Colombia

Introduction: Dermatomyositis is an idiopathic inflammatory myopathy characterized by the presence of skin lesions; it is considered a heterogeneous disease, due to its clinical presentation, course, and prognosis. In Colombia there are few records that describe the clinical characteristics of these patients. Methods: Cross-sectional study. Medical records of patients who consulted a university hospital in Colombia between January 2004 and December 2019 were reviewed. The records were obtained using databases from the dermatology, rheumatology, dermatopathology, and electrophysiology units, and CIE10 diagnostic codes. Results: Seventy patients with a dermatomyositis diagnosis were found, 63 (90%) fulfilled the Bohan and Peter diagnostic criteria and 7 (10%) had amyopathic dermatomyositis, with an average age of 43 years (SD±15.3). Forty-eight were women (68.5%). The most frequent clinical signs were Gottron's papules 80%, periorbital violaceous (heliotrope) erythema with oedema 78.5% (n=55) and poikiloderma 75.7% (n=53). The most frequently found systemic manifestations were dysphagia (21.4%, n=15), interstitial lung disease (11.4%, n=8), and pulmonary hypertension (8.5%, n=6). Cancer was documented in 8.5% (n=6) of patients. Conclusion: We showed clinical information of patients with dermatomyositis in a referral hospital in Colombia. The data obtained is consistent with information from other case series worldwide.