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Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has reach pandemic proportions globally. For patients with symptoms of fever and cough accompanied by rapid lung damage progression, COVID-19 needs to be distinguished from interstitial lung disease (ILD) attributed to connective tissue disease (CTD), especially dermatomyositis (DM)/clinical amyopathic dermatomyositis (CADM) associated rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease (RP-ILD). Case presentation We report a case of a woman observed with fever, cough, and rapid lung damage during the epidemic. The patient had a suspicious epidemiological history, and her chest CT scans showed lung damage similar to that caused by COVID-19, but anti-Ro52 antibody was strongly positive. She was diagnosed with CADM associated RP-ILD and died 1 month later. Conclusions During the COVID-19 epidemic, it is critical to carefully assess patients with CTD related ILD, especially RP-ILD associated with CADM. Repeated nucleic acid tests for COVID-19 are necessary to achieve accurate case diagnosis. High-resolution CT (HRCT) of the chest is presently deemed an inefficient technique to distinguishing between COVID-19 and CADM associated RP-ILD. The characteristic rashes of dermatomyositis require careful observation and can often provide diagnostic clues. For patients with CADM, a high titers of anti-Ro52 antibody may be related to the pathogenesis of RP-ILD, suggesting a poor prognosis.

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