Objective: The objective of this study was to analyse an association between nailfold capillary abnormalities and the presence and severity of erectile dysfunction (ED) in men with SSc.
Methods: A cross-sectional analysis of the prospective European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) Scleroderma Trial and Research database was performed. Men with SSc were included if they had undergone nailfold capillaroscopy and simultaneous ED assessment with the 5-item International Index for Erectile Function (IIEF-5).
Results: Eighty-six men met the inclusion criteria. Eight men (9.3%) had not had sexual intercourse and could not be assigned an IIEF-5 score. Sixty-nine of the 78 men (88.5%) with an IIEF-5 score had nailfold capillary abnormalities, of whom 54 (78.3%) suffered from ED. Nine men (11.5%) had no nailfold capillary abnormalities, of whom six (66.7%) had ED (P = 0.44). ED was more frequent in older men (P = 0.002) and in men with diffuse disease (P = 0.06). Men with abnormal capillaroscopy had a higher median EULAR disease activity than men without (P = 0.02), a lower diffusing capacity of the lung (P = 0.001) and a higher modified Rodnan skin score (P = 0.04), but mean IIEF-5 scores did not differ (15.7 (s.d. 6.2) vs 15.7 (s.d. 6.3)). IIEF-5 scores did not differ between men with early (n = 12), active (n = 27) or late (n = 27) patterns (IIEF-5 scores of 17.9, 16.3 and 14.7, respectively). There were no differences in the prevalence of early, active and late capillaroscopy patterns between men with or without ED.
Conclusion: Neither the presence or absence of abnormal capillaroscopy findings nor the subdivision into early, active and late patterns is associated with coexistent ED in SSc.
Written by:
Keck AD, Foocharoen C, Rosato E, Smith V, Allanore Y, Distler O, Stamenkovic B, Pereira Da Silva JA, Hadj Khelifa S, Denisov LN, Hachulla E, García de la Peña Lefebvre P, Sibilia J, Airò P, Caramaschi P, Müller-Ladner U, Wiland P, Walker UA. Are you the author?
Department of Rheumatology, Basel University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland; Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand; Department of Clinical Medicine, Clinical Immunology Unit-Scleroderma Center, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy; Department of Rheumatology, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium; Rhumatologie A, Hôpital Cochin, Université Paris Descartes, Paris, France; Department of Rheumatology, Zurich University Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland; Institute for Treatment and Rehabilitation Niska Banja, Medical Faculty, University of Niš, Niš, Serbia; Rheumatology Department, Hospitais da Universidade, Coimbra, Portugal; Department of Internal Medicine, Hôpital Saint Louis, Paris, France; Institute of Rheumatology, Russian Academy of Medical Science, Moscow, Russia; Department of Internal Medicine, Hôpital Claude Huriez, Lille Cedex, France; Servicio de Reumatología, Hospital Universitario Madrid Norte Sanchinarro, Madrid, Spain; Department of Rheumatology, Hôpital de Hautepierre, University Hospital of Strasbourg, Strasbourg Cedex, France; Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology Service, Spedali Civili di Brescia, Brescia; Rheumatology Unit, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Integrata Verona, Verona, Italy; Lehrstuhl für Innere Medizin mit Schwerpunkt Rheumatologie der Justus-Liebig-UniversitätGiessen, Abteilung für Rheumatologie und Klinische Immunologie, Kerckhoff-Klinik, Bad Nauheim, Germany; and Department of Rheumatology and Internal Diseases, Wroclaw University of Medicine, Wroclaw, Poland.
Reference: Rheumatology (Oxford). 2013 Dec 5. Epub ahead of print.
doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/ket392
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 24310296
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