Clinical features of polymyositis/dermatomyositis associated with silicosis and a review of the literature.

There are few reports which describe the association of polymyositis/dermatomyositis (PM/DM) and silicosis. The purpose of this study is to describe the clinical features of PM/DM associated with silicosis. We first describe clinical features of two cases and provide a review of the literature. Finally, seven patients with PM/DM associated with silicosis are retrospectively evaluated. There were one female and six males. Histological specimens were obtained by open lung biopsy in five cases and not examined in two. The mechanism of the association between silicosis and PM/DM is discussed.