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SYSTEMIC SCLEROSIS

Evaluating early diagnostic criteria for SSc

Nature Reviews Rheumatology volume 18, page 62 (2022)Cite this article

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Early diagnosis of systemic sclerosis (SSc) potentially enables therapeutic intervention to avoid the progression of skin fibrosis and organ damage. Researchers have previously evaluated criteria for Very Early Diagnosis of SSc (VEDOSS) in retrospective analyses of single-centre cohorts, but whether these criteria are generalizable is not yet known.

In the VEDOSS international, multicentre, longitudinal registry study, 553 participants had Raynaud phenomenon at enrolment without fulfilling the 2013 ACR–EULAR classification criteria for SSc or the criteria for any other definite connective tissue disease, and had data for at least one annual follow-up visit for assessment of the VEDOSS criteria of positivity for antinuclear antibodies (ANAs), puffy fingers, SSc-specific autoantibodies and abnormal findings on nailfold capillaroscopy. In these patients, the mean age was 45.9 years, 91.7% were women, the median time since onset of Raynaud phenomenon was 4.0 years, and the median duration of follow-up was 3.6 years.

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Original article

  • Bellando-Randone, S. et al. Progression of patients with Raynaud’s phenomenon to systemic sclerosis: a five-year analysis of the European Scleroderma Trial and Research group multicentre, longitudinal registry study for Very Early Diagnosis of Systemic Sclerosis (VEDOSS). Lancet Rheumatol. 3, e834–e843 (2021)

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  1. Nature Reviews Rheumatology http://www.nature.com/nrrheum/

    Robert Phillips

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  1. Robert Phillips
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Correspondence to Robert Phillips.

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Phillips, R. Evaluating early diagnostic criteria for SSc. Nat Rev Rheumatol 18, 62 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41584-021-00745-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41584-021-00745-5

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