How long after initiation of steroids and immunosuppressive therapy does muscle biopsy remain reliably informative in the setting of suspected inflammatory myopathy?
In patients who have already been treated with high-dose glucocorticoids and methotrexate for >4 weeks, but continue to have persistent muscle weakness, what is the diagnostic yield of muscle biopsy?
1 Answer
Mednet MemberInvited Expert
Rheumatology · University of Pittsburg
Answered on
I don't think there is any definitive, well-validated answer here.
Certainly, obtaining a biopsy within ~2 weeks of initiating therapy, in my experience, has clearly not affected the histopathologic findings that would be characteristic of dermatomyositis, necrotizing myopathy, or autoantibody-assoc...
Join for free or sign in to see the full answer