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1Department of Rheumatology, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ioannina, Greece
2Department of Pathophysiology, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
3Department of Pathophysiology, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece; Institute for Autoimmune Systemic and Neurologic Diseases, Athens, Greece
AI Venetsanopoulou
, AV Goules, PG Vlachoyiannopoulos, AA Drosos, AG Tzioufas, PV Voulgari
Capillaroscopy is a non-invasive and safe imaging method that allows the evaluation of the microcirculation of the small vessels of the skin. The method's main advantage is the early detection of microvascular changes that may occur in certain connective tissue diseases (CTDs). Today, the presence of specific autoantibodies and capillaroscopic findings are generally accepted and emerge as a powerful diagnostic tool for detecting underlying CTDs in patients with Raynaud's phenomenon.
The role of capillaroscopy has also been investigated in patients with CTD and interstitial lung disease (ILD). In these patients, lung involvement is considered one of the most severe complications, potentially leading to significant morbidity and mortality. So far, studies have shown an association of the scleroderma pattern in capillaroscopy with lung involvement in Scleroderma patients. Although there are studies on the association of capillary findings in patients with other CTDs, further efforts are needed to evaluate this technique and produce high-performance algorithms in the early detection of involvement and the progression of (CTD) related ILD (CTD-ILD).
The present study aims to perform capillaroscopy in CTD-ILD patients with different imaging patterns and to correlate the method's findings with those found in high-resolution computed tomography, pulmonary tests, and the immunological profile of patients. Furthermore, the impact of ILD treatment on the capillaroscopic findings will be evaluated.
Cite this article as: Venetsanopoulou AI, Goules AN, Vlachoyiannopoulos PG, Drosos AA, Tzioufas AG, Voulgari PV. The Role of Nailfold Capillaroscopy in Evaluating Patients with Interstitial Lung Disease Related to Connective Tissue Disease. Mediterr J Rheumatol 2023;34(4):588-91
Article Submitted: 3 Nov 2022; Revised Form: 15 Nov 2022; Article Accepted: 17 Nov 2022; Available Online: 4 Aug 2023
https://doi.org/10.31138/mjr.20230804.tr
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
