Eosinophilia associated with perimyositis and pneumonitis

We describe a patient who had severe myalgias, bronchial asthma, pulmonary infiltrates, and eosinophilia. The findings on physical examination and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate were normal; there was no elevation of the serum creatine kinase. Muscle biopsy demonstrated an inflammatory exudate that contained eosinophils, localized primarily to the perimysium. Pulmonary and muscle manifestations responded to corticosteroids. Systemic eosinophilic disease associated with perimyositis or myositis has not been reported previously. In addition, we review the spectrum of eosinophilic muscle diseases--eosinophilic perimyositis, eosinophilic polymyositis, and focal eosinophilic myositis.