Abstract
The objective of the study is to determine the importance of the mode of onset as prognostic factor in systemic sclerosis (SSc). Data were collected from the Spanish Scleroderma Registry (RESCLE), a nationwide retrospective multicenter database created in 2006. As first symptom, we included Raynaud’s phenomenon (RP), cutaneous sclerosis, arthralgia/arthritis, puffy hands, interstitial lung disease (ILD), pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), and digestive hypomotility. A total of 1625 patients were recruited. One thousand three hundred forty-two patients (83%) presented with RP as first symptom and 283 patients (17%) did not. Survival from first symptom in those patients with RP mode of onset was higher at any time than those with onset as non-Raynaud’s phenomenon: 97 vs. 90% at 5 years, 93 vs. 82% at 10 years, 83 vs. 62% at 20 years, and 71 vs. 50% at 30 years (p < 0.001). In multivariate analysis, factors related to mortality were older age at onset, male gender, dcSSc subset, ILD, PAH, scleroderma renal crisis (SRC), heart involvement, and the mode of onset with non-Raynaud’s phenomenon, especially in the form of puffy hands or pulmonary involvement. The mode of onset should be considered an independent prognostic factor in systemic sclerosis and, in particular, patients who initially present with non-Raynaud’s phenomenon may be considered of poor prognosis.
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Change history
21 June 2018
When first published, this article inadvertently listed the RESCLE investigators individually within the author list. The names should instead have been listed within the Acknowledgements section only. The corrected author list and the updated Acknowledgements section are presented in this Correction.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the RESCLE Registry Coordinating Center, S & H Medical Science Service, for their quality control data, logistic and administrative support, and Prof. Salvador Ortiz, from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, and Statistical Advisor of S & H Medical Science Service, for his support in the statistical analysis of the data presented in the present study.
Funding
We gratefully acknowledge all investigators who form part of the nationwide Spanish Scleroderma Registry (RESCLE). This project was possible thanks to an unrestricted educational scholarship granted by Actelion Laboratories.
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Rubio-Rivas, M., Corbella, X., Pestaña-Fernández, M. et al. First clinical symptom as a prognostic factor in systemic sclerosis: results of a retrospective nationwide cohort study. Clin Rheumatol 37, 999–1009 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-017-3936-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-017-3936-7