Lupus & antiphospholipid syndrome
Distribution of nailfold videocapillaroscopy parameters in systemic lupus erythematosus and their association with disease activity: an international blinded case–control analysis on behalf of the EULAR study group on microcirculation in rheumatic diseases
An erratum to this article was published (RMD Open, 9 Oct 2025 ↗)
Authors' conclusion
This study has shown that changes in NVC patterns are associated with important aspects of SLE disease activity.
Study context
- Population
- Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and matched healthy controls (HCs) from 16 centres in 10 countries
- Participants
- 381 patients5,861 nailfold videocapillaroscopy (NVC) images
- Exposure
- SLE vs HCs; NVC cluster 2 vs cluster 1
- SLEn = 203
- HCsn = 178reference
- Outcome
- NVC findings in SLE
Methodological detailsobservational, multicentre, international, matched, central blinded analysis
- Observational
- Multicentre
- International
- Matched
- Central blinded analysis
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
- Normal NVC pattern in SLE
- 86.6%
- Significantly higher frequency of NVC abnormalities (enlarged and giant capillaries, microhaemorrhages, irregular nail bed architecture) in the remaining patients
- p<0.001
- More severe NVC pattern (cluster 2) in SLE
- 12%
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
| Outcome | P value |
|---|---|
| Disease activity, NVC cluster 2 vs cluster 1Cluster 2 vs Cluster 1 · significantly higher disease activity; SLEDAI cut-off ≥3 | P = 0.016 |
| Disease activity, NVC cluster 2 vs cluster 1Cluster 2 vs Cluster 1 · significantly higher disease activity; SLEDAI cut-off ≥4 | P = 0.028 |
Clinical features by NVC cluster
- Cluster 2: significantly higher frequency of arthritis, renal involvement and ongoing GC therapy
- Serositis significantly associated with cluster 1
Original publication
Distribution of nailfold videocapillaroscopy parameters in systemic lupus erythematosus and their association with disease activity: an international blinded case–control analysis on behalf of the EULAR study group on microcirculation in rheumatic diseases. RMD Open. Published 8 September 2025. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →