title: Undifferentiated connective tissue disease: a seven-center cross-sectional study of 184 patients.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to characterize the clinical and serological features of a large cohort of patients with antinuclear antibody (ANA) positive undifferentiated connective tissue disease (UCTD). Consecutive patients with UCTD, followed up at the Rheumatology Clinic of the participating centers, were included. Data from these patients were obtained by clinical evaluation and chart review. All patients were diagnosed as having UCTD on basis of the following criteria: positive ANA plus at least one clinical feature of connective tissue disease, but not fulfilling classification criteria for any differentiated connective tissue disease. One hundred eighty-four patients were studied (female patients-94.5%; mean age at time of evaluation-47 years). The most prevalent manifestations were arthralgia (66%), arthritis (32%), Raynaud's phenomenon (30%), sicca symptoms (30%), and leukopenia (19%). The prevalence of ANA was 100%, anti-SSA 20%, anti-dsDNA 14%, and anti-SSB 7%. Patients with anti-dsDNA/anti-Sm, anticentromere/anti-Scl70, or anti-SSA/anti-SSB antibodies more frequently presented a set of manifestations close to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), systemic sclerosis, or Sjögren syndrome, respectively. We analyze a large cohort of UCTD. Seventy-two percent of these UCTD patients present lupus-, scleroderma-, or Sjögren-like features but do not fulfill classification criteria and mostly present a mild disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Coimbra University Hospital, Praceta Prof. Mota Pinto, Coimbra 3000-075, Portugal. claudiacvaz@gmail.com
authors.forename: C C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Vaz
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Couto
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Medeiros
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Miranda
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nero
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Barros
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sousa
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barcelos
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Inês
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear / Q000097:blood*; D003240:Connective Tissue Diseases / Q000097:blood* / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000097:blood; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012595:Scleroderma, Systemic / Q000097:blood; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear