Bolesnici s povišenom koncentracijom kreatin kinaze u reumatološkoj ambulanti – prikaz skupine bolesnika [Patients with elevated creatine kinase levels in rheumatology outpatient clinic – case series]

Creatine kinase (CK) is an enzyme found in different tissues and is responsible for the conversion of creatine into phosphocreatine. Muscle-derived CK has clinical significance as a marker of muscle injury. Elevated levels of CK are a frequent reason for referring the patient with suspected inflammatory idiopathic myopathies to the Rheumatology outpatient clinic. We analyzed the data from 23 referred patients collected over the period of two years. The analyzed data were collected from 16 female and 7 male patients aged 31 to 78 (with the average age of 53.43 years). Inflammatory idiopathic myopathies were confirmed in 13/23 (56.52%) patients (polymyositis in 76,92% and dermatomyositis in 23.08%). The treatment included nonpharmacological modalities and different immunosuppressive and/or immunomodulatory drugs (glucocorticoids, azathioprine, methotrexate, antimalarials and intravenous immunoglobulines).