Hello and welcome to the Zero to Finals podcast.

My name is Tom and in this episode I'm going to be talking to you about polymyocitis and dematomyocitis.

And if you want to follow along with written notes on this topic, as always you can follow along at

0.0.com slash myocitis or in the rheumatology section of the zero

de finals medicine book. So let's get straight into it. Polymyocitis and dematomyotitis are

autoimmune conditions where there's inflammation in the muscles and inflammation of the muscles

is called myocytus.

Polymyocitis is a condition of chronic inflammation in the muscles, or chronic myocitis.

Domatomyocitis is a connective tissue disorder where there's chronic inflammation of the skin

and the muscles.

Firstly, we need to talk about creatine kinase,

and this is a key investigation for diagnosing myocitis.

Creatine kinase is an enzyme found inside muscle cells,

and inflammation of those muscle cells, or myocitis,

leads to the release of creatine kinase into the bloodstream.

Creatine kinase is usually less than 300 units per liter when you test it on a blood test.

In polymyocitis or dematomyocitis, the result is usually over a thousand, often in multiples

of thousands.

Polymyocitis and dematomyocitis aren't the only causes of arrays creatine kinase,

and it's worth being aware of the other causes that might put creatine kinase level up.

The first is rhabdomyalysis, and this is a key condition where creatine kinase is an important marker.

Acute kidney injuries, myocardial infarction, treatment with statins, and also a very strenuous exercise can all put the creatine kinase level up. Let's talk about the link between polymyocytus and

...