Background:Systemic Sclerosis (SSc) overlap syndromes (SSc with polymyositis / dermatomyositis (PM/DM), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), etc.) still remain a group of very heterogenous and not very well studied clinical variants of SSc that are characterized by certain clinical and immunological features.Objectives:Identify clinical and immunological features of the SSc-overlap syndromesMethods:80 pts with SSc-PM/DM and 35 pts with SSc-RA undergoing standard clinical examination and laboratory immunological evaluation.Results:ANA Hep2 was positive in 98% of SSc-PM/DM pts; a-Scl-70 was in 34%, a - PM-Scl and RF were in 20%. ACA (6%), a-RNP (9%), and a - Jo-1 (5%) were significantly less common. Correlation analysis showed significant prevalence of conduction abnormalities in pts with a-Scl-70- (p<0.03); PM-Scl was rarely associated with cardiac arrhythmia (p<0.02) and pericarditis (p<0.03), but there was an association between ACA and presence of digital ischemia (p<0.04). Three pts with limited skin had Scl-70 and PM-Scl antibodies, two of them manifested clinical features of DM. A-Jo-1 was found in 3 pts with a longstanding disease (14,10 and 7 years), and one of these pts was also positive for a-Scl-70. All pts had limited skin and two had interstitial lung disease with FVC values of 79% and 74.8%.ANA Hep2 was positive in 96% of SSc-RA pts; a-Scl-70 – in 28%, and a-RNP - in 30%. RF-positivity was in 72% of pts, and Anti-CCP - in 27%. Simultaneous Anti-CCP and a-Scl-70 was found in one case, and Anti-CCP - anti-RNP – in another, both were associated with low RF titers. All pts had early joint involvement which became prevailing in subsequent years, and onset of the disease between 30 and 36 years. There was a correlation between laboratory signs of inflammatory activity and immunological disorders: ESR and a-Scl-70 (p<0.03). Anti-CCP and a-Scl-70 co-positivity was a significantly less frequent phenomenon (p<0.04). There was a remarkable 28% proportion of a-Scl-70 cases in SSc-RA with limited cutaneous which is usually characterized by ACA-positivity.Conclusion:SSc-PM/DM and SSc-RA appear to be an active disease from the immunological point of view, confirming therefore an important role of immune alterations in disease progression. Laboratory findings display specific pathogenetic features of SSc-overlap syndromes; laboratory abnormalities can be used to measure the activity and specify characteristics of the pathological process.Disclosure of Interests:None declared
Digital ischemia following radial arterial cannulation
