Long-term outcome of primary Raynaud's phenomenon and its conversion to connective tissue disease: a 12-year retrospective patient analysis.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the frequency of development of connective tissue disease (CTD) in patients considered to have idiopathic Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) > 10 years.


METHODS
Based on initial evaluation, 113 women and 29 men were divided into either 'primary RP' (n=109) or 'possible secondary RP' (n=33) groups and were re-evaluated after a median follow-up period of 12.4 years.


RESULTS
Overall 20 patients (14.1%) progressed to a definite CTD; 10 from 'primary RP' (9.2%) and 10 from possible secondary RP' (30.3%). Initial presence of antinuclear antibodies, thickening of fingers, higher age at onset of RP, and female sex seemed to be important determinants for a possible transition to a CTD.


CONCLUSIONS
In RP-patients, who are at risk of development of a CTD, serial clinical and laboratory controls are warranted for the decision to initiate therapy early.
Ziegler
S
S
Division of Angiology, Clinic for Internal Medicine II, University Hospital School of Medicine, Vienna, Austria. sophie.ziegler@akh-wien.ac.at
Brunner
M
M
Eigenbauer
E
E
Minar
E
E
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D017668:Age of Onset; D000368:Aged; D001317:Austria / Q000453:epidemiology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003240:Connective Tissue Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011336:Probability; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011928:Raynaud Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013997:Time Factors