Objective: To evaluate renal vascular damage in Japanese patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) by colour-flow Doppler ultrasonography.
Methods: The pulsatility index (PI) was measured in renal interlobar and segmental arteries by colour-flow Doppler ultrasonography.
Results: PI values of interlobar arteries were increased in SSc patients (n=53) with normal renal function compared with healthy persons (n=16), systemic lupus erythematosus patients (n=12) and dermatomyositis patients (n=3). SSc patients with elevated PI levels had digital pitting scar, short sublingual frenulum, contracture of phalanges, pulmonary fibrosis, decreased per cent vital capacity, heart involvement, positivity for anti-topoisomerase I antibody, and elevated C-reactive protein more frequently than those with normal PI levels.
Conclusion: Although renal crisis is rare in Japanese SSc patients, our study suggests that latent and subclinical renal damage exists in these patients.