• Giovanni La Montagna, Antonietta Baruffo, Rosella Tirri, Giovanni Buono, and Gabriele Valentini.
• Dipartimento di Internistica Clinica e Sperimentale F. Magrassi-Seconda Università degli Studi di Napoli, Naples, Italy. Giovanni.Lamontagna@unina2.it
• Semin. Arthritis Rheum. 2002 Feb 1; 31 (4): 248-55.

ObjectiveTo investigate the clinical and radiologic features of foot involvement in systemic sclerosis (SSc).PatientsOne hundred patients (91 women, 9 men; mean age, 51.9 +/- 11 years) with SSc (mean disease duration, 17.4 +/- 10.5 years) were retrospectively studied. Seventy-four subjects had limited scleroderma and 26 diffuse scleroderma.MethodsRadiologic changes of foot involvement were assessed at presentation (time of diagnosis) and follow-up ranging from 1 to 28 years (median range, 7 years) and were compared with changes detected in the hands of each patient at the same presentation and follow-up. Correlations with skin and internal organ involvement were assessed.ResultsNinety patients had foot involvement clinically. Forty-three had it at initial evaluation; 47 developed it during follow-up. Median time to clinical event occurrence was 10 years (95% CI, 6.7-13.3) with 44% censored case probability at this time. The onset of clinically evident foot involvement was later in limited SSc than in diffuse SSc. In comparison with hands with SSc, feet with SSc had lower rates of necrotizing Raynaud's phenomenon and tendon friction rubs and decreased skin thickening scores, whereas arthralgias occurred significantly more often. At presentation, 37 patients had radiologic abnormalities of their feet compared with 69 of their hands (P <.001); the hands had a significantly higher prevalence of acroosteolysis (P <.001). At the end of the follow-up, 35 of 50 SSc patients had radiographic foot involvement compared with 50 of 51 with hand involvement (P <.001). A significantly higher prevalence of acroosteolysis (P <.001), calcinosis (P <.05), and erosions (P <.05) of the hands were detected at that time.ConclusionThis study shows that compared with hand involvement in SSc, foot involvement in SSc has a later onset and is relatively less frequent but can be disabling.Copyright 2002, Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.

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