Skin Ultrasound Assessment of Patients with Systemic Scleroderma-An Observational Study

Area of Science:

• Dermatology
• Rheumatology
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Systemic scleroderma (SSc) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by fibrosis.
• Assessing dermal changes is crucial for SSc diagnosis and management.
• Non-invasive imaging methods for quantifying skin fibrosis are needed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze dermal thickness changes in systemic scleroderma (SSc) patients using ultrasound.
• To compare dermal thickness between SSc patients and healthy controls.
• To differentiate dermal thickness between diffuse and limited cutaneous SSc forms.

Main Methods:

• Ultrasound examination of three skin areas: finger, hand, and forearm.
• Inclusion of 20 female SSc patients (disease history ≤ 5 years) and 14 healthy controls.
• Subgroup analysis of SSc patients into diffuse and limited cutaneous forms.

Main Results:

• SSc patients exhibited significantly increased dermal thickness in hand and forearm areas compared to controls.
• Diffuse SSc patients showed higher average skin thickness than limited SSc patients, with statistical significance in the forearm.
• Pulmonary hypertension correlated with significant differences in diffuse SSc patients.

Conclusions:

• Skin ultrasound is a valuable, accessible tool for diagnosing and quantifying dermal fibrosis in SSc.
• Ultrasound can differentiate SSc-related skin changes from normal skin.
• Dermal thickness variations may correlate with SSc clinical subtypes and disease manifestations.