title: Systemic sclerosis and risk of venous thromboembolism: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Several chronic inflammatory disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory myositis, and systemic vasculitides, have been linked to an increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE). However, the data on systemic sclerosis (SSc) remains unclear.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies that reported odds ratio, relative risk, hazard ratio, or standardized incidence ratio comparing risk of VTE in patients with SSc versus non-SSc participants. Pooled risk ratio and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using a random-effect, generic inverse variance method of DerSimonian and Laird.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Out of 776 potentially relevant articles, five eligible studies were identified and included in the data analysis. The pooled risk ratio of VTE in patients with SSc was 2.51 (95% CI, 1.79-3.54). The statistical heterogeneity of this study was high with an I2of 90%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study demonstrated a statistically significant increased VTE risk among patients with SSc.
authors: a Division of Rheumatology, Mayo Clinic , Rochester , MN , USA.|b Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine , Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol university , Bangkok , Thailand.
authors: Patompong
authors: P
authors: Ungprasert
authors: c Division of Pulmonology and Critical Care Medicine, Mayo Clinic , Rochester , MN , USA.
authors: Narat
authors: N
authors: Srivali
authors: d Division of Nephrology and Hypertension, Mayo Clinic , Rochester , MN , USA.
authors: Wonngarm
authors: W
authors: Kittanamongkolchai
keywords: Epidemiology; Meta-analysis; Scleroderma; Systemic sclerosis; Venous thromboembolism