Clinical features of patients with systemic sclerosis accompanied by rheumatoid arthritis.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the incidence of patients with both systemic sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis (SSc-RA) and the clinical features of those with SSc-RA.


METHODS
All 173 patients with systemic sclerosis in our clinic were investigated.


RESULTS
Of the 173 patients with systemic sclerosis, 9 (5.2%) developed rheumatoid arthritis (RA). At the first visit, arthritis prior to Raynaud's phenomenon, increased C-reactive protein (CRP), and elevated rheumatoid factor (RF) were seen in patients with SSc-RA at a significantly higher incidence than in those without (44.4% versus 4.8%, p < 0.01; 55.6% versus 13.6%, p < 0.001; 247.2 +/- 312.1 versus 47.9 +/- 54.3 IU/ml, p < 0.001, respectively). Furthermore, in 8 of the 9 patients with SSc-RA, CRP was increased before the diagnosis of RA.


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that systemic sclerosis patients with elevated RF and a history of arthralgia prior to Raynaud's phenomenon should be followed up with serial measurements of CRP due to their risk of developing RA.
Jinnin
M
M
Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Ihn
H
H
Yamane
K
K
Asano
Y
Y
Yazawa
N
N
Tamaki
K
K
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear / Q000097:blood; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012595:Scleroderma, Systemic / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology
D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear; D002097:C-Reactive Protein