Q: My child was diagnosed as Dermatomyositis in April this year. Now she is suffering from severe pulmonary infection. The test suggests severe diffuse lesions in her lungs, and now she has suffered from high fever for ten days. The pulmonary ventilation function is declining gradually. At first, blood oxygen saturation is 97 ~ 99 by using a breathing mask.. Now with noninvasive ventilator, the blood oxygen saturation is only 80 or even lower. Is there any better treatment now? Please help!
A: As you have described, you child is suffering from severe pulmonary infection. Firstly, I will explain reasons why patients with Dermatomyositis are more likely to develop combined infections.
Dermatomyositis is characterized by inflammatory damage to muscles and skin, and other parts such as lungs, joints, the esophagus, the lungs, and, less commonly, the heart. Patients with Dermatomyositis have autoimmune malfunctions.
In the common treatment of the disease, immunosuppressive drugs and glucocorticoids are often applied. However, using those medications may decrease the patients’ immunity. Combing the reduced immunity with the internal immune disorders, the patients with Dermatomyositis are more prone for infections than patients with other disease.
What’s more, Dermatomyositis can cause muscle damage and lead to various muscle problems such as difficulty swallowing, progressive muscle weakness, involved pharynx, throat and esophagus muscle damage, etc. Combination of those conditions make the patients more prone for combined infections.
As for treating combined infections in Dermatomyositis, the treatment should be based on treating the accompanying complications of Dermatomyositis, adjusting the use of immunosuppressive drugs and actively treating the infection. Treating complications such as muscle weakness, pulmonary interstitial lesion, esophageal reflux and coughing inability will help the recovery from infections. Lowering dose of immunosuppressive drugs properly could help to reduce its side effects. According to what you have mentioned, you child is suffering from severe pulmonary infection, so the infection as well as the symptoms such as breathing difficulty should also be treated actively.
What I have explained above is the general treatment solution for combined severe pulmonary infection in Dermatomyositis. If you want to know moe details based on the child’s condition, you may send the lab results to my email cindyhe628@gmail.com or contact with the online service directly.
