Mario Madruga, MD

For 3 days, a 28-year-old woman with a history of polymyositis and possible dermatomyositis had fever, chills, and nonproductive cough. She complained of rash, joint pain, and progressive immobility because of severe muscle weakness. For the past 6 years, she had been taking prednisone (60 mg/d), hydroxychloroquine (200 mg bid), and tramadol (100 mg q6h prn for pain).

A 26-year-old woman at 30 weeks’ gestation presented to the emergency department with a throbbing frontal headache of 1 month’s duration. She had also had peripheral blurred vision for the past 2 weeks. Acetaminophen initially decreased her pain but was no longer effective. She had had a previous miscarriage.