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Updated: Aug 18, 2026

Assessment of Vascular Function in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease
Published on: June 16, 2014
Renal vascular damage in Japanese patients with systemic sclerosis
C Nishijima1, S Sato, M Hasegawa
1Department of Dermatology, Kanazawa University School of Medicine, Kanazawa 920-8641, Japan.
Objective:
To evaluate renal vascular damage in Japanese patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) by colour-flow Doppler ultrasonography.
Methods:
The pulsatility index (PI) was measured in renal interlobar and segmental arteries by colour-flow Doppler ultrasonography.
Results:
PI values of interlobar arteries were increased in SSc patients (n=53) with normal renal function compared with healthy persons (n=16), systemic lupus erythematosus patients (n=12) and dermatomyositis patients (n=3). SSc patients with elevated PI levels had digital pitting scar, short sublingual frenulum, contracture of phalanges, pulmonary fibrosis, decreased per cent vital capacity, heart involvement, positivity for anti-topoisomerase I antibody, and elevated C-reactive protein more frequently than those with normal PI levels.
Conclusion:
Although renal crisis is rare in Japanese SSc patients, our study suggests that latent and subclinical renal damage exists in these patients.
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