title: Skin imaging in systemic sclerosis.
abstract: Fibrotic involvement of the skin is a cardinal feature of systemic sclerosis (SSc). The extent of skin involvement is associated with internal organ involvement, coinciding with more severe disease course and poor prognosis. A palpation-based semi-quantitative score, the modified Rodnan skin score, is widely used for the assessment of skin involvement, but it is entailed by significant limitations. More objective approaches to measure skin involvement employing imaging have been explored continuously in the past decades and are currently advancing. Here, we review the use of different imaging techniques for the assessment of skin involvement in patients with SSc, focusing mainly on ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging, and optical coherence tomography.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Taeyoung
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Leeds Institute of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Medicine, University of Leeds, United Kingdom; NIHR Leeds Musculoskeletal Biomedical Research Unit, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Leeds, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Giuseppina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Abignano
authors.affiliation: Leeds Institute of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Medicine, University of Leeds, United Kingdom; NIHR Leeds Musculoskeletal Biomedical Research Unit, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Leeds, United Kingdom; Radiology Unit, Santa Maria Alla Gruccia Hospital, USL 8, Arezzo, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lettieri
authors.affiliation: Leeds Institute of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Medicine, University of Leeds, United Kingdom; NIHR Leeds Musculoskeletal Biomedical Research Unit, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Leeds, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Richard J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Wakefield
authors.affiliation: Leeds Institute of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Medicine, University of Leeds, United Kingdom; NIHR Leeds Musculoskeletal Biomedical Research Unit, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Leeds, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Emery
authors.affiliation: Leeds Institute of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Medicine, University of Leeds, United Kingdom; NIHR Leeds Musculoskeletal Biomedical Research Unit, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Leeds, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Del Galdo
keywords: Imaging; magnetic resonance imaging; optical coherence tomography; skin fibrosis; systemic sclerosis; ultrasound