SARS-Cov-2 infection and severe proximal myopathy secondary to dermatomyositis and overlap systemic sclerosis: A Case Report from Zambia

ABSTRACT

Background: Myositis has been reported to be associated or triggered by viruses. Genetic and environmental factors are documented risk for myopathies. Viruses have also been shown to modify the clinical course of auto-immune diseases. We therefore report a case of SARS-Cov-2 infection in a 26-year-old female black Zambian patient with proximal myopathy. Case Presentation We present the case of a 26-yearold chemical factory worker with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS-cov-2) infection and proximal myopathy. She presented to a local private hospital with fever, weakness and flu-like symptoms after being exposed to a colleague diagnosed with SARS-cov-2 infection at the time Zambia declared the July 2021 third wave of SARS-cov-2pandemic. She also reported difficulties in climbing stairs, had Raynaud's phenomenon, proximal myopathy, classic dermatomyositis features, symptoms of systemic sclerosis, raised creatine phosphokinase (CPK), and a positive nasopharyngeal PCR test for SARS-Cov-2 infection. Conclusions: We presented, for the first time in Zambia, the case of a patient with SARS-Cov-2 infection and severe proximal myopathy secondary to newly diagnosed dermatomyositis and overlap systemic sclerosis. The myopathy appeared to have been worsened by SARS-Cov-2 viral infection.