Calcinosis is associated with ischemic manifestations and increased disability in patients with systemic sclerosis

• Published in: Seminars in arthritis and rheumatism Vol. 50; no. 5; pp. 891 - 896
• Main Authors: Valenzuela, Antonia, Baron, Murray, Rodriguez-Reyna, Tatiana S., Proudman, Susanna, Khanna, Dinesh, Young, Amber, Hinchcliff, Monique, Steen, Virginia, Gordon, Jessica, Hsu, Vivien, Castelino, Flavia V., Schoenfeld, Sara, Li, Shufeng, Wu, Joy Y., Fiorentino, David, Chung, Lorinda
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.10.2020
• Subjects: Acro-osteolysis; Calcinosis; Digital ischemia; Disability; Osteoporosis; Scleroderma; SSc; SHAQ; OR; VAS; dcSSc; DXA; HAQ-DI; CHFS; AO; Disability; Osteoporosis; DU; Acro-osteolysis; Calcinosis; CSRG; Scleroderma; RP; Digital ischemia
• ISSN: 0049-0172; 1532-866X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.semarthrit.2020.06.007

Calcinosis is a debilitating complication of systemic sclerosis (SSc) with no effective treatments. We sought to identify clinical correlations and to characterize complications and disability associated with calcinosis in a multi-center, international cohort of SSc patients. We established a cohort of 568 consecutive SSc patients who fulfill 2013 revised ACR/EULAR criteria at 10 centers within North America, Australia, and Mexico. Calcinosis was defined as subcutaneous calcium deposition by imaging and/or physical examination, or a clear history of extruded calcium. All patients completed the Scleroderma Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index and Cochin Hand Functional Scale. 215 (38%) patients had calcinosis. In multivariable analysis, disease duration (OR=1.24, p = 0.029), digital ischemia (OR=1.8, p = 0.002) and Acro-osteolysis (OR=2.97, p = 0.008) were significantly associated with calcinosis. In the subset of patients with bone densitometry (n = 68), patients with calcinosis had significantly lower median T-scores than patients without (-2.2 vs. -1.7, p = 0.004). The most common location of calcinosis lesions was the hands (70%), particularly the thumbs (19%) with decreasing frequency moving to the fifth fingers (8%). The most common complications were tenderness (29% of patients) and spontaneous extrusion of calcinosis through the skin (20%), while infection was rare (2%). Disability and hand function were worse in patients with calcinosis, particularly if locations in addition to the fingers/thumbs were involved. We confirmed a strong association between calcinosis and digital ischemia. Calcinosis in SSc patients most commonly affects the hands and is associated with a high burden of disability and hand dysfunction.