Objectives: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a disease characterized by diffuse sclerosis of skin and organs and small vessel vasculopathy. Despite it, large vessels can also be involved with ulnar artery vasculopathy, revealing as a more frequent feature of SSc. The aim of this paper is to assess the macrovascular involvement of SSc patients through an ultrasound (US) evaluation of radial and ulnar arteries.
Methods: Radial and ulnar resistance indices (RIs) and peak systolic velocity (PV) (cm/s) together with clinical features of SSc patients were evaluated. Raynaud phenomenon (RP) and healthy control (HC) groups were used for comparison.
Results: Forty-three SSc patients were evaluated. Twelve patients (28%) had ulnar artery occlusions (UAOs). In nine cases (75%), UAOs were bilateral. A high UAO prevalence (42%) was found in SSc patients with late nailfold-video-capillaroscopy (NVC) pattern ( = 0.0264). Patients with UAOs had digital ulcers (DUs) in 10 cases (83.3%). Radial and ulnar PVs were lower in SSc and RP patients than the HC group. Radial and ulnar RIs were higher in SSc and RP patients than the HC group. A decision tree analysis led to the classification of 70% of SSc patients with an ulnar RI > 0.82 and ulnar PV > 2.8 cm/s. The most influential variables on UAO development were interstitial lung disease (ILD) ( = 0.002) and NVC pattern ( = 0.002). A positive correlation was shown between modified Rodnan skin score (mRSS) and ILD ( = 0.283; r = 0.033), mRSS and DU (r = 0.344; = 0.012) and DU and ILD (r = 0.303; = 0.024). Male sex was associated with increased UAO frequency ( = 0.042).
Conclusions: UAO is a peculiar feature of severe SSc present in 28% of the cases, particularly associated with the presence of ILD and late NVC pattern. In 75% of the cases, UAOs are bilateral. DUs are very frequent in patients with UAOs (83%). The RI evaluated by US could be useful to distinguish SSc from HC patients. US could be a useful tool for assessing high-risk DU development in patients.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9962179 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/life13020487 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Differences in the autoantibody phenotypes and long-term outcomes between juvenile- and adult-onset systemic sclerosis.
Mod Rheumatol
January 2025
Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan.
[Objective] To investigate differences in autoantibodies, clinical features, and long-term outcomes between juvenile- and adult-onset systemic sclerosis (SSc). [Methods] Autoantibodies and survival rates over a maximum of 20 years were retrospectively analyzed in 504 Japanese patients with SSc (juvenile-onset SSc, n=17; adult-onset SSc, n=487) using data from Kyoto University Registry. [Results] The autoantibodies observed were anti-topoisomerase-I (71% vs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFpDCs, type 1 IFN, and the female predileXion of SSc.
J Exp Med
March 2025
Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a debilitating autoimmune disease that preferentially afflicts women. The molecular origins of this female bias are unclear. A new study of plasmacytoid dendritic cells from SSc patients by Du et al.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPsychometric Evaluation of the Scleroderma Skin Questionnaire: A Novel Patient Reported Outcome for Skin Disease in Patients with Systemic Sclerosis.
J Rheumatol
January 2025
Jessica K. Gordon, Division of Rheumatology, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York City, NY; Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York City, NY.
Objective: To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Scleroderma Skin Questionnaire (SSQ), a novel patient-reported outcome (PRO) to assess systemic sclerosis (SSc) related skin symptoms.
Methods: The SSQ was administered to 799 adults (mean age 52.7; 82% female) enrolled in the SSc Collaborative National Quality and Efficacy Registry (CONQUER).
Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Incidence in Scleroderma Patients Treated with Bosentan for Digital Ulcers: Evidence from the Italian SPRING Registry.
J Rheumatol
January 2025
Florenzo Iannone, Rheumatology Unit - Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine of Jonian Area University of Bari, Bari, Italy.
Objective: Bosentan (BOS) is approved for treating pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and preventing digital ulcers (DU) in systemic sclerosis (SSc). Our study aimed to evaluate whether BOS prescribed for DU could reduce the incidence of PAH in a large SSc cohort from the SPRING registry.
Methods: Patients with SSc from the SPRING registry, meeting ACR/EULAR 2013 classification criteria with data on PAH onset, DU status, BOS exposure, and at least a one-year follow-up between 2015 and 2020, and no known PAH at baseline were included.
Immediate skin-to-skin contact and postpartum hemorrhagic morbidity.
Int J Gynaecol Obstet
January 2025
Delaware Center for Maternal-Fetal Medicine of ChristianaCare, Newark, Delaware, USA.
Objective: To examine rates of postpartum hemorrhagic (PPH) morbidity among patients who did and did not have immediate skin-to-skin contact (SSC).
Methods: This study was a retrospective cohort of all non-anomalous, term singleton vaginal births at a Level IV center over 2 years. Exclusion criteria included COVID-19.
Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!