A Case of Misdiagnosed Juvenile Dermatomyositis

Results: The patient presented an atypical course of juvenile dermatomyositis. The rashes, which mainly presented as erythema and wheals, were subsequently followed by the appearance of muscle weakness. However, the rashes were inconspicuous at first consult. The misdiagnosis of Duchenne muscular dystrophy was made due to the age of onset, distribution of muscle weakness, a high creatine kinase level, and other serum enzymatic changes. Upon further analysis, however, a diagnosis of juvenile dermatomyositis was definitively confirmed and the disease was controlled following systematic treatment for five months.