Systemic sclerosis. Current classification and diagnosis of organ involvement

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a rare, chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease with unknown etiology, which leads to deposition of collagen and extracellular matrix proteins in the skin and affected internal organs. The diagnosis of SSc is based on clinical, serological, and paraclinical examinations. In 2013 new criteria for the classification of systemic sclerosis, which also take early forms of SSc into consideration, were developed. A complete clinical and paraclinical examination is important for the oligosymptomatic early stages and the subsequent disease course of SSc in order to diagnose and timely treat a developing organ involvement.