Systemic sclerosis & Raynaud's
Longitudinal ultrasound assesment of skeletal muscle ın systemic sclerosis: association with disease activity and severity
Authors' conclusion
Longitudinal ultrasound assessment effectively reflects progressive reduction in muscle thickness in SSc, correlating with disease activity and severity. These findings highlight ultrasound as a practical, non-invasive tool for early detection and monitoring, potentially capturing subclinical changes, specifically a decrease in muscle thickness, in SSc.
Study context
- Population
- Patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc), muscle thickness of biceps brachii, triceps brachii, medial gastrocnemius and rectus femoris measured by ultrasound at 0, 6 and 12 months
- Participants
- 52 SSc patients
- Outcome
- Change in gastrocnemius muscle thickness vs disease activity
- Follow-up
- Initial 6-month period
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Correlation coefficient r (significant inverse correlation), p = 0.026
−0.36
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Difference in modified Rodnan skin score (mRSS) vs difference in biceps brachii muscle thickness · between baseline and 6 months
- Correlation coefficient r, p < 0.05
- −0.33
Muscle thickness and severity scores
- Decreasing muscle thickness paralleled increasing severity scores
ROC analysis for gastrocnemius muscle
- Moderate discriminative performance for detecting clinically relevant muscle changes
Original publication
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