Inhomogeneity of capillaroscopic findings in systemic sclerosis.

Background: Despite the great interest in capillaroscopy in systemic sclerosis (SSc), research on the possible combinations of different microvascular phenomena at different fingers in SSc patients have not been performed until now.

Objective: To assess the diversity of capillaroscopic findings in SSc.

Methods: The study includes analysis of the capillaroscopic findings in 40 SSc patients who were divided into the following categories: "scleroderma", type pattern - "early", "active", "late" phase, normal and/or nonspecific findings. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and t test.

Results: In 77% of the patients, inhomogeneity of the capillaroscopic findings of the fingers was detected. The most frequent combinations of capillaroscopic patterns were "early + active" (n = 7), "active + late" phase (n = 7), "active" phase + normal and/or nonspecific findings (n = 6), "early + active" phase + normal and/or nonspecific findings (n = 4). Concomitant presence of normal and/or nonspecific findings and "late" phase was detected in only 3 cases.

Conclusion: Inhomogeneity of the capillaroscopic findings in SSc is a frequent phenomenon. The results indicate that combinations of "scleroderma" type capillaroscopic findings from different phases could be observed as well as concomitant appearance of pathological and normal/or nonspecific findings of different digits. This phenomenon could be a result of the complex action of different factors eg, disease duration, severity of Raynaud's phenomenon, presence of digital ulcers, local action of different angiogenic and angiostatic factors, gradual transition from one phase to another due to the extensive capillary area, therapeutic interventions.