Prognosis of spontaneous pneumomediastinum occurring in dermatomyositis or polymyositis patients with interstitial lung disease according to antimelanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 antibody status: a retrospective cohort study

Objectives: Spontaneous pneumomediastinum (SPNM) historically has been considered a poor prognostic factor in dermatomyositis/polymyositis patients complicated with interstitial lung disease (ILD). However, there is a lack of actual data regarding the association between SPNM occurrence and mortality in dermatomyositis/polymyositis patients. This study aimed to assess the association between SPNM occurrence and mortality in myositis patients with ILD according to antimelanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (MDA5) antibody status.

Methods: Dermatomyositis/polymyositis patients with ILD who were hospitalised at five Japanese hospitals from 2016 to 2020 were included in this retrospective observational study. We collected data about baseline characteristics including myositis-specific autoantibodies, treatments, SPNM and death within 1 year from therapy initiation or strengthening. Baseline characteristics and outcomes were compared between patients with and without SPNM (the SPNM group and the non-SPNM group, respectively).

Results: A total of 119 patients were analysed. SPNM occurred in 23 patients, and 15 patients died. Fifteen patients with SPNM were anti-MDA5 antibody positive. The mortality rate was significantly higher in the SPNM group (34.8%) than in the non-SPNM group (7.3%) (p=0.001). All deaths in the SPNM group occurred in anti-MDA5 antibody-positive patients (8/15), whereas none of the anti-MDA5 antibody-negative patients in the SPNM group died (0/8). In anti-MDA5 antibody-positive patients, the mortality rate was significantly higher in patients with SPNM occurrence (53.3%) than in those without SPNM occurrence (4.0%) (p=0.001).

Conclusion: SPNM occurred more frequently in anti-MDA5 antibody-positive than in anti-MDA5 antibody-negative myositis patients. SPNM occurrence was associated with higher mortality risk, especially in anti-MDA5 antibody-positive patients.