Systemic sclerosis is an autoimmune disease, characterized by fibrosis and vascular abnormalities, which determine the clinical manifestations and prognosis. The aim of this study was the assessment of intrarenal vascularization in diffuse systemic sclerosis patients and its correlations with nailfold capillaroscopy abnormalities. Material and methods. The study was performed on 11 patients with diffuse systemic sclerosis without any renal abnormalities and 11 sex- and age-matched controls. In all patients were determined: glomerular filtration rate (GFR), proteinuria, urinary sediment, resistive (RI) and pulsatility (PI) index of interlobar renal arteries and the number of nailfold capillaries/mm. All the data were presented as mean ± standard deviation. The statistically analysis was done using Pearson’s test and Student’s t-test, p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results. The mean age of diffuse systemic sclerosis patients was 46.90 ± 4.98 years, and the mean length of disease was 4.63 ± 2.96 years. GFR, RI, and PI were significantly lower in diffuse systemic sclerosis patients than in controls (p < 0.001). It was identified a strong correlation between nailfold capillaries density/mm and GFR (r = 0.719, p < 0.05), RI (r = - 0.784, p < 0.01), PI (r = - 0.748, p < 0.01), and the mean length of the disease (r = - 0.85, p < 0.001). Conclusion. In patients with systemic sclerosis, intrarenal vascularization and glomerular filtration rate correlate with the capillaroscopic findings.
Association Between Uric Acid and Worsening Peripheral Microangiopathy in Systemic Sclerosis
