Systemic sclerosis & Raynaud's
Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging before and after therapeutic interventions for systemic sclerosis-associated myocarditis
Authors' conclusion
CMRI may distinguish between reversible inflammatory/fibrotic and irreversible fibrotic lesions in SSc patients with active myocarditis, confirming the unique nature of primary cardiac involvement in SSc.
Study context
- Population
- SSc patients (14 diffuse, 4 limited) with symptomatic myocarditis diagnosed by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMRI) (2018 revised Lake Louise criteria); 16/18 women, mean age 56 years14 diffuse, 4 limited SSc
- Participants
- 18 patients
- Exposure
- CMRI before vs after therapeutic interventions
- Outcome
- Changes in CMRI findings, incl. inflammatory and/or fibrotic myocardial lesions, after therapeutic interventions
- Follow-up
- 8 months (s.d. 3)
Methodological detailsbefore-after comparison of repeat CMRI, Treatments: cyclophosphamide (n = 11), mycophenolate (n = 1), tocilizumab (n = 1), methotrexate/corticosteroids (n = 2), corticosteroids (n = 1), autologous stem cell transplantation (n = 2)
- Before-after comparison of repeat CMRI
- Treatments: cyclophosphamide (n = 11), mycophenolate (n = 1), tocilizumab (n = 1), methotrexate/corticosteroids (n = 2), corticosteroids (n = 1), autologous stem cell transplantation (n = 2)
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Change from first to second CMRI
- Left ventricular ejection fraction increase
- 5.8% (s.d. 7.8), P = 0.006
- Right ventricular ejection fraction increase
- 4.5% (s.d. 11.4), P = 0.085
- Late gadolinium enhancement decrease
- 3.1% (s.d. 3.8; P = 0.003)
- Late gadolinium enhancement resolved
- six patients
- T2 ratio decrease
- 0.27 (s.d. 0.40; P = 0.013)
- T2 mapping decrease
- 6.0 (s.d. 7; P = 0.025)
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Original publication
Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging before and after therapeutic interventions for systemic sclerosis-associated myocarditis. Rheumatology (Oxford). Published 9 September 2022. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →