Raynaud's phenomenon: clinical spectrum of 118 patients.
OBJECTIVE
To establish the prevalence of the associated secondary diseases in patients with Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) attending a rheumatology specialty centre and to determine the frequency with which a secondary illness develops in those having RP, in absence of a well-defined secondary cause.


METHODS
118 consecutive patients were evaluated. Medical history, physical and laboratory investigations entered into a database. Patients with primary RP and patients with RP who did not fulfil any diagnostic criteria for inclusion in a secondary form were followed up over a three-year period.


RESULTS
63 RP patients were found with related conditions. 35 patients met criteria for inclusion in a primary RP group, 20 patients had 'unclassifiable' RP, of which two (10%) developed a well-defined disease. None of the primary RP patients developed a secondary disease.


CONCLUSIONS
This study shows that less than 50% of patients with RP attending a rheumatology specialty centre have a connective tissue disease. Patients with isolated RP appear to have a benign disease, since primary RP remains as such, and only a small percentage of patients with 'unclassifiable' RP evolve into a well-defined CTD.
Department of Rheumatology, University of Ancona, Italy. deaross65@libero.it
Rossella
R
De Angelis
Patrizia
P
Del Medico
Patrizia
P
Blasetti
Claudio
C
Cervini
D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D017668:Age of Onset; D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003240:Connective Tissue Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008487:Medical History Taking; D008875:Middle Aged; D010808:Physical Examination; D011379:Prognosis; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular / Q000502:physiology; D011928:Raynaud Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017678:Sex Distribution