Preliminary analysis of the Very Early Diagnosis of Systemic Sclerosis (VEDOSS) EUSTAR multicentre study: evidence for puffy fingers as a pivotal sign for suspicion of systemic sclerosis

Item does not contain fulltext OBJECTIVES: The EULAR (European League Against Rheumatism) Scleroderma Trials and Research Group (EUSTAR) has identified preliminary criteria for very early diagnosis of systemic sclerosis (SSc). Our aim was to assess the prevalence of each proposed diagnostic item in a large observational patient cohort with Raynaud's phenomenon (RP). METHODS: Baseline data of 469 RP patients enrolled into the Very Early Diagnosis of Systemic Sclerosis (VEDOSS) cohort are presented. RESULTS: 68% of all RP patients were antinuclear antibody (ANA) positive. ANA+ RP patients more frequently had previous or current puffy fingers (PuFi) (38.5% and 23.3%, p