title: Idiopathic inflammatory myopathies: definition and management of refractory disease.
abstract: Adult idiopathic inflammatory myopathies, commonly referred to as myositis, are a heterogeneous group of diseases with an autoimmune etiology. In this review, the authors are going to focus on myositis excluding inclusion body myositis. They will review the prognostic factors (for mortality and response to steroids), define refractory disease, introduce a new concept (presumed refractory disease), analyze definitions of active disease, damage and improvement criteria, and summarize therapeutic alternatives for refractory patients, based on different disease phenotypes.
authors.affiliation: Centro Hospitalar do Porto, Hospital de Santo António, Department of Medicine, Unidade de Imunologia Clínica, Largo do Professor Abel Salazar, Porto, Portugal. mabrsi@gmail.com
authors.forename: Mariana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brandão
authors.forename: António
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Marinho
mesh_terms: D054316:Biomarkers, Pharmacological / Q000378:metabolism; D018450:Disease Progression; D004351:Drug Resistance; D006801:Humans; D016756:Immunoglobulins, Intravenous / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007165:Immunosuppression Therapy; D008727:Methotrexate / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D009220:Myositis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011379:Prognosis; D012008:Recurrence
chemical_list: D054316:Biomarkers, Pharmacological; D016756:Immunoglobulins, Intravenous; D008727:Methotrexate