Publishing a study on a case, a team of Texan internists recalls the possibility of various digestive motor disorders in dermatomyositis:
- proximal dysphagia (pharynx and upper third of the esophagus), relatively common in inflammatory myopathies (25 to 50% of cases), linked to damage to the striated muscles;
- distal dysphagia due to damage to smooth muscles, more frequent in the event of association with another connective tissue disease, such as scleroderma, and which may conduct in particular to slow gastric emptying and abdominal pain;
- constipation with fecal impaction by reduction of peristaltic movements of the colon, with possible ulcerations and digestive bleeding.
These various expressions do not only erodes the quality of life. They can also have an impact on morbidity and mortality, with regard to their complications.
