TOPLINE:

Having an active rash or interstitial lung disease conferred a higher risk for in-hospital mortality among patients with dermatomyositis in a cohort study.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers conducted a retrospective cohort study of 153 adults with dermatomyositis (mean age, 56.5 years; 73.9% female) who were admitted for any cause to a US tertiary referral center between 2013 and 2024.
• Information on disease characteristics, organ involvement, and serologic and laboratory tests was retrieved from electronic health records and clinician notes.
• The analysis focused on in-hospital mortality, the causes of death, and associated factors.

TAKEAWAY:

• Overall, 10.6% of patients died during hospitalization. Most deaths were attributed to worsening of interstitial lung disease or to infections.
• Patients who died had higher rates of active rash (81.3% vs 34.3%) and interstitial lung disease (87.5% vs 41.6%) and a higher mean neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (12.5 vs 4.90) than did survivors.
• Having an active rash (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 12.13; P = .003), interstitial lung disease (aOR, 6.43; P = .044), and an elevated neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (aOR per 1-unit increase, 1.29; P < .001) raised the mortality risk.
• No deaths occurred among patients with active rash only, without the involvement of any other organ.

IN PRACTICE:

“These features may help clinicians identify high-risk disease and guide inpatient management,” the authors of the study wrote.

SOURCE:

This study was led by Anjana Srikumar, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore. It was published online on October 29, 2025, in JAMA Dermatology.

LIMITATIONS:

The generalizability and precision of the findings were limited by the retrospective single-center design and modest sample size. Disease activity was assessed using clinical notes rather than standardized tools. Data on disease severity before admission were unavailable.

DISCLOSURES:

No specific funding source was mentioned explicitly. One author reported receiving salary support from the Dermatology Foundation Medical Dermatology Career Development Award and clinical trial funding from AstraZeneca.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.