DIGITAL PRESSURE RESPONSES TO COOLING IN PATIENTS WITH SUSPECTED EARLY VS DEFINITE SCLERODERMA (SYSTEMIC-SCLEROSIS) VS PRIMARY RAYNAUDS-PHENOMENON

Objective. To compare digital vascular responses to local finger cooli ng in 4 groups of subjects: patients with definite scleroderma (SD, sy stemic sclerosis) meeting ARA criteria(n = 16), patients with suspecte d early SD (n = 12), patients with primary Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) ( n = 23) and a control group of 29 healthy subjects. Methods. Their dig ital systolic pressures were measured at 30, 20, 15 and 10 degrees C f inger cuff temperature, in a room kept at 18 degrees C. Results. The r esults of the digital pressure measurements showed a clearcut differen ce between the SD, primary RP and control groups, but there was no dif ference between patients with definite SD and those with suspected ear ly SD. Conclusion. Under our experimental conditions, digital pressure response to local cooling separates groups of patients with primary R P and those with secondary RP related to SD from each other and from c ontrols. The similarity between digital pressure responses of patients with suspected early SD and those with definite SD, suggests an early organic involvement of the digital vasculature in SD.