Table 2 Characteristics of patients with systemic sclerosis
From: Early atherosclerosis in systemic sclerosis and its relation to disease or traditional risk factors
Disease characteristic | N = 49 |
|---|---|
Systemic sclerosis subset, number (percentage) | Â |
   Diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis | 4 (8%) |
   Limited cutaneous systemic sclerosis | 45 (92%) |
Disease duration, years | 6 (2–12) |
Raynaud phenomenon duration, years | 11 (6–25) |
Antibody, number (percentage) | Â |
   Scl70 (topoisomerase 1) | 4 (8%) |
   Centromere | 22 (45%) |
   Nuclear ribonucleoprotein | 2 (4%) |
   Antinuclear antibodies, not specified | 17 (35%) |
   None | 4 (8%) |
EScSG disease activity index | 0.5 (0.5–1.5) |
Medsger severity scale score | 6.0 (4.5–7.0) |
Modified Rodnan skin score | 7.0 (4.5–14.0) |
Prednisolone use, number (percentage) | Â |
   None | 28 (57%) |
   Former | 13 (27%) |
   Current | 8 (16%) |
Cumulative prednisolone dose, grams | 3.6 (1.9–16.1) |
Immunosuppressive agents, number (percentage) | Â |
Never used | 25 (51%) |
Former or current users | 24 (49%) |
   Methotrexate |  |
Current | 12 |
Former | 7 |
   Cyclophosphamide |  |
Current | 2 |
Former | 4 |
   Azathioprine |  |
Current | 3 |
Former | 3 |
   Cyclosporin |  |
Current | 0 |
Former | 1 |