A 65-year-old female was admitted with rapidly progressive respiratory failure requiring intubation and mechanical ventilation. She was considered to have an infective exacerbation of underlying interstitial lung disease (ILD). She improved on antibiotics, but the interstitial process progressed rapidly, and she could not be weaned. An antimyositis antibody panel yielded a strongly positive anti-Jo-1 and anti-Ro 52. A diagnosis of antisynthetase syndrome (ASS) associated ILD, a very rare disease with high mortality, was made. She was managed with high-dose corticosteroids and intravenous immunoglobulin therapy and was eventually liberated from mechanical ventilation. This case highlights the importance of considering ASS in an otherwise unexplained rapidly progressive ILD requiring mechanical ventilation.
Keywords: antisynthetase syndrome; anti‐Jo‐1 antibody; anti‐Ro52 antibody; interstitial lung disease; intravenous immunoglobulin.
© 2023 The Authors. Respirology Case Reports published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of The Asian Pacific Society of Respirology.