Objective: To compare digital vascular responses to local finger cooling in 4 groups of subjects: patients with definite scleroderma (SD, systemic sclerosis) meeting ARA criteria (n = 16), patients with suspected early SD (n = 12), patients with primary Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) (n = 23) and a control group of 29 healthy subjects.
Methods: Their digital systolic pressures were measured at 30, 20, 15 and 10 degrees C finger cuff temperature, in a room kept at 18 degrees C.
Results: The results of the digital pressure measurements showed a clearcut difference between the SD, primary RP and control groups, but there was no difference between patients with definite SD and those with suspected early SD.
Conclusion: Under our experimental conditions, digital pressure response to local cooling separates groups of patients with primary RP and those with secondary RP related to SD from each other and from controls. 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.