Inflammatory stays inflammatory: a subgroup of systemic sclerosis characterized by high morbidity and inflammatory resistance to cyclophosphamide.

Background/purpose: Elevated levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) in systemic sclerosis (SSc) have been linked to early inflammatory stages of the disease. This study has been designed to investigate CRP levels longitudinally in a cohort of SSc patients and to correlate these findings with comorbidities and disease characteristics.

Methods: In this retrospective study, patients with SSc treated at the outpatient clinic of the Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, University Medical Center Freiburg, were analyzed.