The following is a summary of “Serum IgA levels for predicting the development of rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease in dermatomyositis,” published in the June 2023 issue of Pulmonology by Zhang, et al.

In some cases of dermatomyositis (DM), patients can develop rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease (RPILD), a severe and treatment-resistant condition that poses a risk to life. There needed to be more convenient and practical predictive factors for developing RPILD in patients with DM. For a study, researchers sought to identify independent risk factors associated with RPILD in patients with DM.

The study retrospectively reviewed a total of 71 patients with DM who were admitted to the hospital between July 2018 and July 2022. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were conducted to identify risk factors that could predict the development of RPILD. Significant variables associated with RPILD were used to establish a risk model.

The multivariate regression analysis identified serum IgA levels as a significant risk factor for RPILD in patients with DM. Additionally, the risk model was constructed by combining IgA levels with other independent predictors, such as the presence of anti-melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (MDA5) antibody, fever, and C-reactive protein, achieved an area under the curve of 0.935 (P < 0.001).

The study findings suggested that higher serum IgA levels serve as an independent risk factor for RPILD in patients with DM. The risk model incorporating IgA levels along with other relevant predictors could aid in predicting the development of RPILD in these patients.

Source: resmedjournal.com/article/S0954-6111(23)00210-X/fulltext