The development of polymyositis in a patient with toxoplasmosis: clinical and pathologic findings and review of literature.

A 58 year old female was evaluated for fever, rash, myalgias, muscle weakness and cervical lymphadenopathy. She was found to have myositis on muscle biopsy, toxoplasmic lymphadenitis on lymph node biopsy, and markedly elevated IgM and IgG antibody titers to Toxoplasma gondii. The patient was treated with prednisone and a 2 month course of sulfadiazine and pyrimethamine. The patient improved over the next six months and has been followed for approximately a five year period. During this time, antibody levels to the toxoplasma antigen have significantly decreased but the patient has developed a chronic myositis indistinguishable from polymyositis.