Acute poststreptococcal polymyalgia.

Three patients developed severe incapacitating diffuse pain and tenderness of the skeletal muscles after acute streptococcal infection. There was no evidence of concomitant arthritis, glomerulonephritis, or inflammatory muscle disease in any of the cases. All patients responded promptly to anti-inflammatory therapy. Severe myalgia should be considered an additional complication of immunologically mediated poststreptococcal response.