Iraqi Postgraduate Medical Journal

Abstract

ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND:
Renal involvement is considered a poor prognostic factor and not frequently a cause of death in patients with scleroderma. Renal involvement can be divided into scleroderma renal crisis and non-renal crisis abnormalities.
OBJECTIVE:
To evaluate the frequency of renal involvement in 25 Iraqi patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc).
METHODS:
Twenty five patients with SSc (21 female and 4 male) were included in a case-controlled study. All patients fulfilled the American College of Rheumatology criteria for SSc. All patients were of diffuse type. Other types of SSc were excluded. All patients underwent measurement of blood pressure and investigations had been done for them which included: hemoglobin (Hb), white blood cell (WBC) count, platelet count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), blood urea (BU), serum creatinine (SCr), general urine examination (GUE), and rheumatoid factor (RF). Same investigations were done for 25 healthy person (considered as control group).
RESULT:
All patients (100%) had Raynaud’s phenomenon, 23 patients (29%) had dysphagia, 21 patients (84%) had arthralgia, 10 patients (40%) had telangiectasia and 2 patients (8%) had subcutaneous calcification. Three patients (12%) had moderate hypertension. Fourteen patients (56%) had anemia, 2 patients (8%) had leukocytosis, 6 patients (24%) had elevated ESR, 1 patient (4%) had elevated BU, 1 patient (4%) had albuminuria and 4 patients (16%) had positive RF. Platelet count and SCr were normal in all patients. Only 1 patient (4%) had renal involvement in form of combination of azotemia, albuminuria and hypertension.
CONCLUSION:
Renal involvement in systemic sclerosis among Iraqi patients is rare.