Clinical characteristics of systemic sclerosis patients with digital ulcers in China

Objective. To investigate the clinical characteristics of SSc patients with DUs in China. Methods. The data of 267 consecutive SSc patients based on the EUSTAR DATABASE from Peking Union Medical College Hospital from February 2009 to March 2012 were prospectively collected. The patients with DUs were compared to those without DUs. Results. Seventy-nine patients (29.6%) had DUs out of 267 SSc patients analysed. There were significant differences between patients with and without DU based on sex (female/male: 65/14 vs. 174/14), age of onset of SSc (32.3 +/- 11.7 vs. 40.4 +/- 12.6 y), age of onset of Raynaud's phenomenon (31.8 +/- 12.3 vs. 38.7 +/- 12.2) (p<0.05). In addition, there was a higher rate of diffuse SSc, gastrointestinal involvement, (especially esophageal involvement), and pericardial effusion, higher mRodnan score, and more anti-scl70 antibody positivity in patients with DU (p<0.05). A multivariate analysis identified anti-Scl70 antibody positivity, gastrointestinal involvement and a younger age at disease onset as three risk factors for developing DUs in SSc patients. Conclusion. The occurrence of DUs in Chinese SSc patients is frequent. It is possible that SSc patients with DUs were influenced by the disease earlier in life, which should be detected early for effective intervention.