Compartment Syndrome followed by Inflammatory Myositis in a Patient with Urethral Cancer / 대한내과학회지

ABSTRACT

Inflammatory myositis is a heterogeneous group of rare diseases characterized by inflammation of the skeletal muscle. The association between cancer and inflammatory myositis is well established, with most cancer-associated myopathies diagnosed within 2 years of initial diagnosis. However, despite this strong association, inflammatory myositis as a paraneoplastic syndrome of urethral cancer has not been reported in Korea. Furthermore, compartment syndrome in the context of inflammatory myositis is extremely rare. A 69 year-old woman presented with paresthesia and painful swelling of the right lower extremity 2 months after diagnosis with urethral cancer, which was treated by chemoradiotherapy. Painful numbness was particularly severe when extending the knee, leading to a preliminary diagnosis of myositis with compartment syndrome, which was confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging. After fascia resection, the patient was treated with high dose steroid and immunoglobulin therapy. Here, we report a case of compartment syndrome followed by inflammatory myositis in a patient with urethral cancer.