Calcinosis universalis

✍ Scribed by Nasim Afsarmanesh; Alan Gorn

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2009
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 233 KB
• Volume: 4
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1553-5592
• DOI: 10.1002/jhm.407

✦ Synopsis

A 38-year-old woman with juvenile dermato- myositis (JDM) and calcinosis universalis presented with 3 days of drainage from a lesion on her right elbow. An examination of the elbow revealed diffuse and firm subcutaneous nodules with overlying erythema. X-rays illustrated soft-tissue calcifications in the forearm and elbow without evidence of osteomyelitis (Figure 1). Wound cultures grew Staphylococcus aureus, and the patient was started on intravenous antibiotics for abscess treatment.

Calcinosis universalis is soft-tissue calcification presenting as a complication of JDM. It is often detected in childhood in 30% to 70% of patients. It is hypothesized that calcinosis is due to chronic tissue inflammation, as seen in JDM, leading to muscle damage, releasing calcium, and inducing mineralization. Calcinosis universalis often presents as calcified nodules and plaques in areas of repeated trauma, such as joints, extremities, and buttocks (Figures 123). Calcification is localized in subcutaneous tissue, fascial planes, tendons, or intramuscular areas. It can cause