title: Cutaneous vasculitis in adult polymyositis/dermatomyositis.
abstract: Seven (9.2%) of 76 patients with adult-onset polymyositis/dermatomyositis (PM/DM) seen over an 11-year period had cutaneous vasculitis. This was manifest by dermal and/or subcutaneous nodules in 4, periungual infarcts in 3 and digital ulceration in 2. When these 7 patients were compared to the remaining 69, a significant association was noted between cutaneous vasculitis and DM (p = .025); only 1 of 31 patients with primary PM and none of 18 with overlap syndromes had vasculitis. Furthermore, 2 (28.6%) of those with vasculitis had an associated malignancy compared to only 4 (5.8%) of those without vasculitis. These data document the occurrence of cutaneous vasculitis in adult-onset PM/DM and suggest that its presence may be a marker of an underlying malignancy.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003882:Dermatomyositis / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009220:Myositis / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D012867:Skin / Q000098:blood supply; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000150:complications; D014657:Vasculitis / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis