Is There a Link Between Nailfold Videocapillaroscopy and Pulmonary Function Tests in Systemic Sclerosis Patients?: A 24-Month Follow-up Monocentric Study.

Background/objective: The aim of this study was to explore the associations between nailfold videocapillaroscopy (NVC) and pulmonary function tests (PFTs) in systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients.

Methods: This was a longitudinal study with follow-up of unselected Brazilian SSc patients. Baseline clinical examination, serological workup, high-resolution chest tomography, and NVC were performed.

Pulmonary hypertension in systemic sclerosis: diagnosis by systematic screening and prognosis after three years follow-up.

Background: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a rare disease, and the presence of pulmonary hypertension can be a determining factor in prognosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnosis, profile, and prognosis of systemic sclerosis pulmonary hypertension (SSc-PH) diagnosed by systematic screening in a Brazilian population.

Methods: A cohort of SSc patients underwent systematic screening for SSc-PH.

Defining prognosis in sarcoidosis.

Sarcoidosis is a multi-systemic granulomatous disease. Affected individuals can show spontaneous healing, develop remission with drug treatment within 2 years, or become chronically ill. Our main goal was to identify features that are related to prognosis.

Automatic Quantification of Interstitial Lung Disease From Chest Computed Tomography in Systemic Sclerosis.

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a common complication in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc), and its diagnosis contributes to early treatment decisions. To quantify ILD associated with SSc (SSc-ILD) from chest CT images using an automatic quantification method based on the computation of the weight of interstitial lung opacities. Ninety-four patients with SSc underwent CT, forced vital capacity (FVC), and carbon monoxide diffusion capacity (DL) tests.

Changes in lung ultrasound of symptomatic healthcare professionals with COVID-19 pneumonia and their association with clinical findings.

Purpose: To evaluate ultrasound signs of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pneumonia in symptomatic healthcare professionals and to correlate those changes with clinical findings.

Methods: All patients underwent real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), lung ultrasound (LUS) and clinical evaluation on the same day. In each of the 12 areas evaluated in the LUS, the LUS signs were scored to generate the aeration score.

Effects of treatment with rituximab on microcirculation in patients with long-term systemic sclerosis.

Objective: To investigate the effect of rituximab on microcirculation in long-term SSc.

Results: Four patients with diffuse SSc over 3 years of disease received rituximab cycles of two 1-g infusions every 6 months for 2 years. Videocapillaroscopy was performed at baseline, 12 months, and 24 months and semi-quantitative scoring of videocapillaroscopy abnormalities was performed and the microangiopathy evolution score (MES: range 0-9) was calculated.

Computed tomography trachea volumetry in patients with scleroderma: Association with clinical and functional findings.

Background: In scleroderma, excessive collagen production can alter tracheal geometry, and computed tomography (CT) volumetry of this structure may aid in detecting possible abnormalities. The objectives of this study were to quantify the morphological abnormalities in the tracheas of ​​patients with scleroderma and to correlate these findings with data on clinical and pulmonary function.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study in which 28 adults with scleroderma and 27 controls matched by age, gender and body mass index underwent chest CT with posterior segmentation and skeletonization of the images.

Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (formerly known as Churg-Strauss syndrome) as a differential diagnosis of hypereosinophilic syndromes.

Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA), formerly known as Churg-Strauss syndrome, is a rare systemic disease situated between primary small vessel vasculitides associated with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCAs) and hypereosinophilic syndromes (HES). Here, we present a case of EGPA in a 38-year-old male, with a previous diagnosis of asthma, who presented with fever, migratory lung infiltrates and systemic eosinophilia that was refractory to previous courses of antibiotics. This case highlights the importance of the primary care physician understanding the differential diagnosis of pulmonary eosinophilic syndromes.