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Gastrointestinal Complications of Dermatomyositis

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Dermatomyositis

Gastrointestinal manifestations of DM in adults have included dysphagia, esophageal reflux, esophageal dysmotility, delayed gastric emptying, decreased intestinal motility, and rectal incontinence [1, 2]. The most common gastrointestinal symptom in juvenile DM is dysphagia, as a result of pharyngeal and upper esophageal involvement [3]; however, occasionally ulceration and perforation of the gastrointestinal tract [4, 5], and pneumatosis intestinalis [6, 7] have been reported. Although dysphagia results from inflammation and atrophy of esophageal muscle, ulceration is the consequence of vasculitis and thromboses of both esophageal and small bowel blood vesels [1, 5, 8, 9].

Dysphagia occurs in approximately 25–50% of DM patients. According to various clinical studies in a large group of patients with IIMs, dysphagia has been present in 29% of cases in Australia [10], 30% in Brazil [11], 31–43% in Canada [12, 13], 45% in the USA [14], 47% in Bulgaria [15], and 52% in Sweden [16]. Low frequency of dysphagia has been reported in Singapore — 11% of IIM patients [17] (Table 12.1).

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(2009). Gastrointestinal Complications of Dermatomyositis. In: Dermatomyositis. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-79313-7_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-79313-7_12

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