Scleroderma and erosive polyarthritis: a disease entity?
We describe 4 patients with scleroderma in whom a major clinical feature was a deforming, erosive polyarthritis accompanied by positive tests for rheumatoid factor. In all but 1 case the skin involvement preceded joint symptoms, and in some cases there was evidence of systemic involvement. This destructive arthritis may represent the coexistence of 2 diseases or an extreme form of the inflammatory arthritis seen in scleroderma. Alternatively, the clinical presentation may represent an 'overlap syndrome' with features of both scleroderma and rheumatoid arthritis.
D000368:Aged; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011928:Raynaud Disease / Q000150:complications; D012595:Scleroderma, Systemic / Q000150:complications*