• 1 January 1982
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 9  (2) , 289-291
Abstract
The condition of 25 patients with Raynaud''s phenomemon, initially examined by in vivo capillary microscopy, was followed to determine how those who had shown scleroderma-pattern (SD-pattern) capillary abnormalities compared with other patients later in the course of disease. Limited follow-up information was obtained on 19 patients (10 with and 9 without the SD-pattern); the interval between the initial examination and the follow-up ranged from 9 mo. to 5 yr. During the interval, SD (systemic sclerosis) or a closely related disease developed in 5 of the 10 patients who had initially displayed SD-pattern capillary abnormalities, but not in the 9 others. The length of the follow-up was comparable in both groups.