Rare skin manifestation of juvenile dermatomyositis: peri-orbital oedema and facial swelling.

Juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) is an auto-immune disease characterised by muscle weakness and typical skin findings. Although peri-orbital oedema and facial swelling are compatible cutaneous findings in JDM, they are extremely rare. A 7-year-old boy who presented with peri-orbital oedema and facial swelling without muscle weakness is reported. In addition, he had cholestasis and marked cytopenia, which are uncommon in JDM, and malignancy and metabolic disorders were primarily considered in the aetiology. He had no musculoskeletal complaints other than elevated muscle enzymes on presentation but developed muscle weakness during follow-up, and a muscle biopsy was compatible with inflammatory myopathy. He responded favourably to conventional treatment and there were no physical limitations or skin findings by the 14th month of follow-up. Although patients presenting with typical clinical features are easy to diagnose, atypical skin findings are challenging for the clinician. In the presence of atypical skin and clinical findings in addition to muscle enzyme elevation, JDM should be considered in the differential diagnosis. AHCE: asymptomatic hyper-CKemia; AST: aspartate aminotransferase; C: complement; CK: creatine kinase; IVIG: intravenous immunoglobulin; IIM: idiopathic inflammatory myopathy; JDM: juvenile dermatomyositis; LDH: lactate dehydrogenase; MAA: myositis-associated antibodies; MDA5: melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5; MRC: Medical Research Council; MRI: magnetic resonance imaging; MSA: myositis-specific antibodies; MTX: methotrexate NXP2: nuclear matrix protein 2; STIR: short tau inversion recovery; US: ultrasound.