Medical history (history of illness) represents an important component in the diagnosis of polymyositis (inflammatory disease of the musculature).
Family history
- Is there a family history of muscle disease, autoimmune disease?
- Are there any hereditary diseases in your family?
Social history
- What is your profession?
- Is there any evidence of psychosocial stress or strain due to your family situation?
Current medical history/systemic history (somatic and psychological complaints).
- Do you have any muscle complaints? (muscle weakness)
- Can you lift your arms above your head without restriction?
- Do you have difficulty climbing stairs, standing up?
- Do you suffer from muscle pain?
- Do you have joint problems?
- Do you feel ill? (general feeling of illness)
- Do you have a fever?
Vegetative history including nutritional history.
- Do you have problems swallowing food or drinking?
Self-history
- Previous illnesses (viral infections: Coxsackie, Picorna viruses).
- Surgeries
- Allergies
- Pregnancies
- UV irradiation
Medication history
Inflammatory myopathies
- Allopurinol (urostatic agent/for treatment of elevated uric acid levels).
- Antimalarials such as chloroquine
- D-penicillamine (antibiotic)
- Interferon alpha (antiviral and antitumor effects).
- Cocaine
- Levodopa
- Procainamide (local anesthetic)
- Simvastatin (statins; lipid-lowering drugs)
- Sulfonamides
- Zidovudine
Other myopathies
- ACTH
- Antiviral drugs
- Nucleoside analogues (lamivudine, zidovudine).
- Carbimazole
- Clofibrate
- Cromoglicic acid
- Cyclosporine
- Enalapril
- Ezitimib
- Hormones
- ACTH
- Corticosteroids
- HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (hydroxy-methyl-glutaryl-coenzyme A reductase inhibitors; Statins) – atorvastatin, cerivastatin, fluvastatin, lovastatin, mevastatin, pitavastatin, pravastatin, rosuvastatin, simvastatin) more commonly cause rhabdomyolysis (dissolution of striated muscle fibers/skeletal muscle as well as cardiac muscle) in combination with fibrates, ciclosporin (cyclosporin A), macrolides, or azole antifungals; Furthermore, statins lead to a decrease in endogenous coenzyme Q10 synthesis; frequency of myalgia in clinical practice is 10% to 20%The term statin myopathy is used when:
- Symptoms occur within four weeks of starting statin use
- They remit within four weeks after discontinuation of the drug, and
- Recur upon re-exposure.
- Metoprolol
- Minoxidil
- Proton pump inhibitors (PPI; acid blockers) – esomeprazole, lansoprazole, omeprazole, pantoprazole, rabeprazole.
- Salbutamol
Myopathy and neuropathy
- Amiodarone
- Colchicine
- Interferon
- L-tryptophan
- Vincristine
