High serum sCD163/sTWEAK ratio is associated with lower risk of digital ulcers but more severe skin disease in patients with systemic sclerosis

Table 1 Clinical characteristics of the patients with systemic sclerosis and the control group.

Parameter^a	SSc patients (n= 89)	Controls (n= 48)
Female/male ratio	80/9	42/6^c
Age, years	57.23 ± 12.31	53.71 ± 14.38^c
Disease duration, years^b	10.65 ± 9.00
Duration of Raynaud's phenomenon, years (data available for 54 patients only)	9.59 ± 8.45
dSSc/lSSc, number of patients	20/69
ANA-positive, n (%) patients	84 (94.38)
Anti-topo I-positive, n (%) patients	35 (39.33)
ACA-positive, n (%) patients	33 (37.08)
ILD by HRCT/radiograph, n (%) patients	55 (61.78)
Pulmonary hypertension, n (%) patients (data available for 81 patients only)	4 (4.94)
Digital ulcers, n (%) patients	38 (42.70)
Scleroderma renal crisis, n (%) patients	0
Arterial hypertension, n (%) patients	8 (9.00)	0
CCBs, n (%) patients Pentoxyphylline, n (%) patients ACEIs, n (%) patients Sildenafil, n (%) patients NSAIDs, n (%) patients	27 (30.34) 33 (37.08) 12 (13.48) 4 (4.49) 13 (14.61)	0 0 0 0 0

Values are given as mean ± SD unless stated otherwise. ^aData available for 89 patients unless stated otherwise; ^bcalculated from the time of the first non-Raynaud's symptom attributable to SSc; ^cstatistically non-significant (P >0.05). ACA, anticentromere antibodies; ACEIs, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors; ANA, antinuclear antibodies; CCBs, calcium channel blockers; dSSc, diffuse systemic sclerosis; HRCT, high resolution computed tomography; lSSc, limited systemic sclerosis; ILD, scleroderma interstitial lung disease; NSAIDs, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Detailed definitions of particular organ involvement are given in the methods section.

ISSN: 1478-6362