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Table 2 Patient characteristics by DU severity*

From: Digital ulcers in systemic sclerosis: their epidemiology, clinical characteristics, and associated clinical and economic burden

Patient characteristics by number of DU

Mild DU*

Moderate DU*

Severe DU*

p value

 

n (%) or mean ± SD

Median (IQR 25th–75th)

n (%) or mean ± SD

Median (IQR 25th–75th)

n (%) or mean ± SD

Median (IQR 25th–75th)

 

Patient number

308 (74.8%)

60 (14.6%)

44 (10·7%)

 

Demographics

 Age at SSc onset, years

43.9 ± 14.5

42.8 ± 12.1

43.4 ± 12.3

0.56

 Female gender

286 (84.9%)

54 (83.1%)

29 (65.9%)

0.01

 Limited disease subtype

230 (68.5%)

30 (46.2%)

12 (27.3%)

< 0.001

 Alive

239 (79.9%)

51 (85.0%)

28 (68.3%)

0.12

 Smoke (past or current)

169 (50.2%)

33 (50.7%)

28 (63.6%)

0.24

DU severity (highest no of DU)

 Mild (1–5 digital ulcers on exam)

337 (75.6%)

65 (14.6%)

44 (9.9%)

 

 Moderate (6–10 digital ulcers on exam)

   

N/A

 Severe (> 10 digital ulcers on exam)

    

Autoantibody profile**

 Anti-centromere pattern ANA (n = 437)

159 (48.2%)

17 (26.6%)

5 (11.6%)

< 0.001

 Scl 70 + ve (n = 432)

53 (16.3%)

19 (30.2%)

21 (48.8%)

< 0.001

 RNA polymerase III + ve (n = 300)

35 (15.4%)

17 (36.9%)

4 (15.4%)

0.03

Clinical manifestations***

 Telangiectasia ever

321 (95.3%)

64 (98.5%)

44 (100%)

0.18

 Calcinosis ever

188 (55.8%)

42 (64.6%)

29 (65.9%)

0.53

 Joint contractures

194 (57.6%)

55 (84.6%)

39 (88.6%)

< 0.001

 GIT involvement

305 (90.5%)

62 (95.4%)

39 (88.6%)

0.38

 SSc Renal Crisis

12 (3.6%)

1 (1.5%)

3 (6.8%)

0.35

 PAH#

59 (17.5%)

6 (9.2%)

5 (11.4%)

0.17

 ILD

104 (30.9%)

25 (38.5%)

27 (61.4%)

< 0.001

Hospitalized in the last 12 months for

 Digital ulcers

71 (23.1%)

22 (36.7%)

17 (38.6%)

0.04

 Intravenous antibiotics therapy

34 (11.0%)

13 (21.7%)

11 (25.0%)

0.02

 Intravenous prostanoids

60 (19.5%)

18 (30.0%)

16 (36.4%)

0.04

 Surgical debridement

22 (7.1%)

6 (10.0%)

5 (11.4%)

0.18

Medications

 CCB

258 (76.6%)

54 (83.1%)

38 (86.4%)

0.21

 PDE5 inhibitor

64 (18.9%)

17 (26.2%)

13 (29.5%)

0.05

 ERAs

72 (21.4%)

9 (13.8%)

8 (18.8%)

0.36

 Iloprost

92 (27.3%)

22 (38.9%)

21 (47.7%)

0.02

 Topical vasodilators

44 (13.1%)

10 (15.4%)

9 (20.5%)

0.39

HRQoL

 Physical component score (PCS)

36.6 ± 10.6

35.3 ± 9.6

31.3 ± 9.8

0.02

 Mental component score (MCS)

46.5 ± 13.3

43.4 ± 12.6

45.9 ± 12.4

0.38

  1. Abbreviations: DU digital ulceration, PAH pulmonary arterial hypertension, ILD interstitial lung disease, GIT gastrointestinal tract, CVA cerebrovascular accident, PVD peripheral vascular disease, ACA anticentromere, Scl-70 antitopoisomerase-1, RNAP anti-RNA Polymerase III, CCB calcium channel blockers, ERAs endothelial receptor antagonists, PDE5 phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors, SSc scleroderma
  2. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) was defined using the SF-36 study short form which provides a score range from 0 to 100.·Scores below 50 indicate worse HRQoL than the population normative score and every 10 points indicates 1 standard deviation.·These scores can be summarized into the physical component score (PCS) and mental component score (MCS), scores below 50 indicate worse HRQoL than the population normative score and every 10 points indicates 1 standard deviation
  3. *DU severity was calculated based on the physician reported highest number of new DUs on examination at clinical review (mild 1–5 new DU, moderate 6–10, and severe > 10 new DU)
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Arthritis Research & Therapy

ISSN: 1478-6362

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