Table I.
Causes of mortality and survival time of 49 patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathy.
| Cause of mortality | Cases | Mean survival time (months) | Patients surviving <1 year | Patients surviving >1 year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infection-associated | 34 (69.4) | 7.3a | 26b | 8 |
| Bacterial or fungal infection | 31 (63.3) | 6.9 | 24 | 7 |
| Viral hepatitis | 3 (6.1) | 11.7 | 2 | 1 |
| Myositis-associated | 15 (30.6) | 14.7 | 6 | 9 |
| Acute interstitial lung disease | 2 (4.1) | 7.0 | 1 | 1 |
| Ventilator weakness | 1 (2.0) | 3.0 | 1 | 0 |
| Pneumothorax | 1 (2.0) | 3.0 | 1 | 0 |
| Liver failure | 1 (2.0) | 11.0 | 1 | 0 |
| Pulmonary artery hypertension | 1 (2.0) | 22.0 | 0 | 1 |
| Acute myocardial infarction | 2 (4.1) | 12.5 | 1 | 1 |
| Arrhythmia | 1 (2.0) | 21.0 | 0 | 1 |
| Gastrointestinal bleeding | 1 (2.0) | 13.0 | 0 | 1 |
| Renal failure | 1 (2.0) | 16.0 | 0 | 1 |
| Tumor | 4 (8.2) | 23.3 | 1 | 3 |
Data are presented as n (%) or n. The survival time was significantly lower in cases of mortality associated with infection vs. mortality associated with myositis (
a
P<0.05), as evaluated using t-tests (t=−2.819). The number of patients surviving <1 year was higher in the infection-associated group than the myositis-associated group (
b
P<0.05), evaluated using Pearson's χ2 test (χ2=6.110).