Rheumatology Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran.
Medical Biology Research Center, Health Technology Institute, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah.
Reumatismo. 2020 Apr 10;72(1):44-51. doi: 10.4081/reumatismo.2020.1233.
Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a collagen-vascular disorder characterized by fibrosis and vasculopathy. Delta finger to palm distance (delta FTP) is an index measuring the distance between the tip of the third finger to the distal palmar crease in the flexed and extended position. The present study aimed to evaluate the clinical value of delta FTP and to assess the correlation of delta FTP with modified Rodnan skin score (mRSS) and forced vital capacity (FVC) over the 12-month follow-up. This prospective longitudinal study began with 50 participants who were followed for twelve months. Lowess smoothing and linear regression were applied to detect and assess the relationship between delta FTP and mRSS. p-values were adjusted by the Benjamini-Hochberg method (BHM) as a control for false discovery rate. Delta FTP was lower among patients with higher disease duration (p-valueadj: 0.008), diffuse cutaneous SSc (p-valueadj: 0.006), digital ulcers (p-valueadj: 0.003), telangiectasia (p-valueadj: 0.006) and dysphagia (p-valueadj: 0.036). The mRSS has a significant negative linear effect on the delta FTP at the baseline and the end of the follow-up (r: -0.31 and -0.40, respectively). Moreover, changes of mRSS and delta FTP showed a negative linear association over time (r: -0.22). These linear effects remained significant after regrouping the patients based on their SSc subtype. Delta FTP and FVC were not correlated either at the baseline or at the end. It seems that the delta FTP can be a valuable clinical index, supported by its correlated changes with mRSS and other SSc clinical manifestations over the one-year follow-up.
系统性硬化症（SSc）是一种以纤维化和血管病变为特征的胶原血管疾病。Delta 指掌距离（delta FTP）是一个测量弯曲和伸展位置时第三指指尖到远端手掌折痕之间距离的指数。本研究旨在评估 delta FTP 的临床价值，并评估 delta FTP 与改良 Rodnan 皮肤评分（mRSS）和用力肺活量（FVC）在 12 个月随访期间的相关性。这项前瞻性纵向研究开始时有 50 名参与者，他们随访了 12 个月。应用 Lowess 平滑和线性回归来检测和评估 delta FTP 与 mRSS 之间的关系。p 值通过 Benjamini-Hochberg 方法（BHM）进行调整，以控制假发现率。delta FTP 在疾病持续时间较长的患者中较低（p 值 adj：0.008）、弥漫性皮肤 SSc（p 值 adj：0.006）、手指溃疡（p 值 adj：0.003）、毛细血管扩张症（p 值 adj：0.006）和吞咽困难（p 值 adj：0.036）。在基线和随访结束时，mRSS 对 delta FTP 有显著的负线性影响（r：-0.31 和-0.40）。此外，mRSS 和 delta FTP 的变化在时间上呈负线性相关（r：-0.22）。这些线性效应在根据 SSc 亚型重新分组患者后仍然显著。delta FTP 和 FVC 在基线或随访结束时均无相关性。似乎 delta FTP 可以作为一种有价值的临床指标，其在一年随访期间与 mRSS 和其他 SSc 临床表现的变化相关。
