Case Report |
May 11, 2025
From Community-Acquired Pneumonia to Diagnosis of Paraneoplastic Myositis with Pulmonary Involvement - A Case Report
Backgound: Myositis is characterized by proximal muscle weakness/ pain and can affect other organs, with skin involvement being common. Most cases are idiopathic, however it may be part of an autoimmune disease or paraneoplastic syndrome.
Case Report: We present an 82-year-old woman admitted for productive cough, fever and hypoxemia. Blood tests showed important rhabdomyolysis and mild C-reative protein increase. Community-acquired pneumonia was assumed and antibiotic therapy was started. Due to the lack of clinical improvement, a thoracic computed tomography was performed, which revealed not only interstitial lung disease, but also a left breast nodule. Breast nodule biopsy showed breast carcinoma. Staging was carried out with the absence of metastases and the diagnosis of Paraneoplastic Myositis with pulmonary involvement was assumed. Hormone therapy was initiated, followed by left mastectomy. Complete clinical recovery of the patient was obtained.
Conclusions: Interstitial lung disease is the most common and serious complication of inflammatory muscle disease. Complete clinical remission after removal of the neoplasm supported the diagnosis of paraneoplastic syndrome, and the patient continued with hormone therapy after surgery.