RAYNAUDS-PHENOMENON IN RHEUMATOID-ARTHRITIS

The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of Raynaud's phen omenon in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and to relate this symptom to clinical, radiological and serological characteristics of t he patients. All relevant information was retrospectively obtained fro m the standardized clinical records of 322 RA in-patients first admitt ed to the Rheumatology Unit of Brest University Medical School. Raynau d's phenomenon was found in 54 (17.2%) of 322 RA patients. There was n o significant correlation between demographic, clinical or radiologica l characteristics. However, the subgroup of RA patients vith Raynaud's phenomenon had a slightly higher prevalence of vasculitis than the su bgroup without Raynaud's phenomenon. CRP level and C4 level were found to be lower in the former than in the latter group, whereas ESR and v arious serological findings (rheumatoid factor, antinuclear antibodies ) were comparable in the two groups. We conclude that the prevalence o f Raynaud's phenomenon is high in French RA in-patients, and that some clinical and biological abnormalities (vasculitis, low CRP level and low C4 level) suggest an association between Raynaud's phenomenon and vasculitis in a few cases, whereas this association might be fortuitou s in the remainder.