Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2023 Apr 24;11(4):e7274.
doi: 10.1002/ccr3.7274. eCollection 2023 Apr.

A novel overlap syndrome: Rheumatoid arthritis, Sjogren's syndrome, antiphospholipid syndrome, and dermatomyositis

Affiliations
Case Reports

A novel overlap syndrome: Rheumatoid arthritis, Sjogren's syndrome, antiphospholipid syndrome, and dermatomyositis

Maab Jasim Mohammed et al. Clin Case Rep. .

Abstract

Key clinical message: This is an extremely rare case that has not been presented or discussed in the literature to the best of our knowledge. The overlap of connective tissue disease is a challenge for physicians and patients, and it needs special care and regular clinical and laboratory follow-up.

Abstract: This report describes a rare case of overlapping connective tissue diseases in a 42-year-old female with rheumatoid arthritis, Sjogren's syndrome, antiphospholipid syndrome, and dermatomyositis. The patient presented with a hyperpigmented erythematous rash, muscle weakness, and pain, highlighting the challenges of diagnosis and treatment that require regular clinical and laboratory follow-up.

Keywords: Sjogren's syndrome; antiphospholipid syndrome; dermatomyositis; overlap syndrome; rheumatoid arthritis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

We declare that we have no conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Radiographic findings of rheumatoid arthritis in the hand: Almost total loss of radiocarpal, carpometacarpal, and intercarpal joint spaces associated with diffuse demineralization.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
The clinical cutaneous manifestations for the patients, Gottron's papules over the knuckles, elbows, and knees (A, and B), shawl sign over the shoulders and upper back (C, and D), holster sign over the lateral thighs (E), and Chilblains sign (F).
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
A computed tomography (CT) of the chest showed that both lungs had interstitial changes, ground glass opacification with the lower lobes being the most affected, and a small amount of pleural thickening on both sides.

References

    1. Pepmueller PH. Undifferentiated connective tissue disease, mixed connective tissue disease, and overlap syndromes in rheumatology. Mo Med. 2016;113(2):136‐140. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Szücs G, Szekanecz Z, Zilahi E, et al. Systemic sclerosis–rheumatoid arthritis overlap syndrome: a unique combination of features suggests a distinct genetic, serological and clinical entity. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2007;46:989‐993. - PubMed
    1. Pakozdi A, Nihtyanova S, Moinzadeh P, Ong VH, Black CM, Denton CP. Clinical and serological hallmarks of systemic sclerosis overlap syndromes. J Rheumatol. 2011;38(11):2406‐2409. - PubMed
    1. Zimmermann C, Steiner G, Skriner K, Hassfeld W, Petera P, Smolen JS. The concurrence of rheumatoid arthritis and limited systemic sclerosis: clinical and serologic characteristics of an overlap syndrome. Arthritis Rheum. 1998;41(11):1938‐1945. - PubMed
    1. Al‐Dhaher FF, Pope JE, Ouimet JM. Determining overlap of systemic lupus erythematosus with rheumatoid arthritis and other connective tissue diseases. J Rheumatol. 2009;36(11):2499‐2503.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources