Myositis.
Last updated Friday, February 11, 2005
Diagnosis and evaluationDiagnosis Because myositis closely resembles many other diseases and differs
so much from person to person, it can be difficult to diagnose.
Your doctor may have to perform many tests
and see you many times before deciding on a diagnosis of myositis. It
often is necessary for your primary care doctor to send you to an
arthritis specialist. Consultation with a neurologist, who specializes
in disorders of the nervous system, may also be indicated.
During the process of reaching a diagnosis, your doctor will ask a
series of questions about the problems you are experiencing and will
perform a physical examination. There are blood tests that may be done,
including some for autoantibodies and muscle enzymes. One of the most
useful is a blood test for a muscle enzyme called creatine kinase, or
CK. In most people with active myositis, the CK level in the blood is
abnormally high. The CK level tends to go up with increasing myositis
disease activity and tends to go down as the myositis improves.
Another procedure very useful in diagnosing myositis is an
electromyogram (EMG). An EMG measures the electrical pattern of the
muscles, just as an electrocardiogram (EKG) measures the electrical
pattern of the heart.
Your doctor will probably also request that a muscle biopsy be done.
This is the removal of a small piece of muscle for staining and
examination with a microscope. The muscle biopsy shows your doctor
whether and how the muscle fibers are damaged.
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