Microvascular abnormalities in Sjogren's syndrome: nailfold capillaroscopy

Objective. To describe microvascular abnormalities by nailfold capillarosco py in patients with primary Sjogren's syndrome (SS) with or without Raynaud 's phenomenon (RP) and those with anticentromere antibodies (ACA). Methods. Forty patients with SS (14 without RP, 16 with RP, 10 with ACA), 2 0 patients with scleroderma (SSc) (10 with limited and 10 with diffuse dise ase) (disease control group) and 40 healthy controls (control group) were e valuated by nailfold capillaroscopy. Results. Capillaroscopic abnormalities in SS ranged from non-specific findi ngs (crossed capillaries) to more specific findings (confluent haemorrhages and pericapillary haemorrhages) or scleroderma-type findings. SS patients with RP presented capillary abnormalities in higher frequency than patients without RP. The majority of SS patients with ACA (80%) presented scleroder ma-type findings. Conclusion. Nailfold capillaroscopy can be used as a simple nan-invasive me thod to evaluate the microvascular abnormalities in SS patients, especially in those with RP and those with ACA.