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Undifferentiated Connective Tissue Disease: Analysis of 83 Patients with a Minimum Followup of 5 Years MARTA MOSCA, ROSSELLA NERI, WALTER BENCIVELLI, ANTONIO TAVONI, and STEFANO BOMBARDIERI
ABSTRACT.
Methods. Of the original 91 patients, 8 were lost to followup; the remaining 83, with a minimum followup of 5 years, were included in our analysis. Results. During the followup 18 patients developed systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and one developed Sjögren's syndrome within a mean period of 54 months after the onset of the disease (range 17-96 mo). On analysis the 18 patients with SLE showed a clinical profile similar to cohorts reported in the literature. In one patient the evolution to SLE occurred during puerperium, but no other triggering factors were observed in our series. The presence of anticardiolipin antibodies and of multiple antibody specificities was significantly correlated with the development of SLE (p < 0.05). Conclusion. This analysis confirms the findings of our one year followup study that UCTD comprises a distinct group of mild diseases and that the rate of evolution to defined connective tissue diseases is higher during the first years after its onset. Patients who maintain an undifferentiated profile during the followup seem to run a decreasing risk of developing a defined CTD. (J Rheumatol 2002;29:2345-9) Key Indexing Terms:
UNDIFFERENTIATED CONNECTIVE TISSUE DISEASE
From the Clinical Immunology Unit and Rheumatology Unit, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy. M. Mosca, MD, Senior Research Fellow; R. Neri, MD; W. Bencivelli, PhD, Associate Professor; A. Tavoni, MD; S. Bombardieri, MD, Professor, University of Pisa. Address reprint requests to Dr. M. Mosca, Rheumatology Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Pisa, via Roma 67, 56126 Pisa, Italy. E-mail: marta@sssup.it Submitted October 26, 2001; revision accepted May 7, 2002. |