Acute distal and symmetrical myositis of uncertain aetiology-a case report and literature review

Abstract

Introduction: Myositis is a clinical condition with a wide spectrum clinical presentation and the classification in the literature is less clear. Case presentation: We present a case of 33 years old woman with acute history of pain and swelling of both calf muscles. Her investigations confirmed acute bilateral myositis. She responded well to conservative management with full recovery. This case is likely to represent a benign acute childhood myositis (BACM) with an adult onset. Although BACM is common in children up to the age of 12 years, there is an increasing trend of presentation in adults. BACM is a self-limited condition with good prognosis without specific treatment and the diagnosis is largely based on clinical features. Therefore, clinicians should be aware of this type of myositis in adults to avoid unnecessary invasive investigations. Conclusion: BACM may be changing pattern with an increasing shift of clinical presentation in adults. It is a self-limited condition, which does not need invasive investigations. There is still need for future research to precisely classify the clinical presentation of myositis.