Rhabdomyolysis caused by hornet venom.

involvement occurs rarely in dermatomyositis. The clinical and physiological findings in this case accord with those of the previous 16 cases of dermatomyositis with pulmonary involvement (Dubowitz and Dubowitz, 1964; Garcia and Toledo, 1964; Hyun et al., 1962; Mills and Mathews, 1956; Pace et al., 1963). In nearly all these cases the respiratory symptoms preceded those of the myositis by weeks or months, as occurred in this patient. In the present case the respiratory symptoms responded well to corticosteroid treatment in moderate doses and the improvement was maintained for nine months, apart from one relapse after reduction in the dosage of prednisolone (see Chart). In the previous 16 patients with dermatomyositis and parenchymal lung involvement a good response to corticosteroids was recorded initially in some patients (Goldfischer and Rubin, 1959; Hepper et al., 1964; Weaver et al., 1968). This was sustained for more than six months in only one patient (Weaver et al., 1968), in whom chest x-ray findings were normal after treatment, but lung function studies did not show the improvement recorded in the present case.