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.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, Clinical amyopathic dermatomyositis, Rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease, Anti-Ro52 antibody, Gottron’s sign, Gottron’s papules, 【초록키워드】 Coronavirus disease 2019, pandemic, Pathogenesis, antibody, diagnostic, Diagnosis, Interstitial lung disease, Symptom, progression, cough, HRCT, nucleic acid test, Chest, Fever, Patient, characteristic, disease, ILD, Critical, COVID-19 epidemic, chest CT scan, dermatomyositis, lung damage, observation, epidemiological history, poor prognosis, positive, connective tissue, the epidemic, caused, died, proportion, diagnosed, inefficient, CTD, accompanied, rashe, 【제목키워드】 lung, Case report, dermatomyositis, interstitial,