Strategy for early diagnosis of lung involvement in systemic sclerodermia

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune disorder characterized by accumul ation of collagen in affected organs, mainly the skin and the lungs, associ ated with abnormalities of the arterioles and capillaries. There are two types of pulmonary involvement, which influence long term pro gnosis: infiltration of the lungs and/or pulmonary artery hypertension. Ful l investigations into possible lung involvement must be performed systemati cally when SSc is diagnosed and during follow-up. The double pathophysiolog y sometimes makes diagnosis difficult but it must be made as early as possi ble in order to decide on the optimal treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the usually explorations and to propo se biological markers to identify patients requiring more detailed lung inv estigations, in order to establish a diagnostic approach to treatment and f ollow-up patients with SSc.