Clin Exp Rheumatol
-
Case Reports
Outcome of patients with scleroderma admitted to intensive care unit. A report of nine cases.
Patients with systemic rheumatic disease constitute a small percentage of admissions to the medical intensive care units (ICUs). Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is one of the rheumatic diseases that together with secondary complications may lead to a critical illness requiring hospitalization in the ICU. We present the features, clinical course and outcome of critically ill patients with scleroderma that were admitted to the ICU. ⋯ The outcome of scleroderma patients admitted to the ICU was extremely poor. Infectious complication was the most common cause of death in our patients. Although infections are treatable, the high mortality rate for this group of patients was dependent on the severity of the underlying visceral organ involvement, particularly severe pulmonary fibrosis. The severity of this involvement is a poor outcome predictor. An early diagnosis and an appropriate treatment of such complications may help to reduce the mortality in scleroderma patients.