ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a rare chronic autoimmune disease with heterogeneous manifestations. In the last decade, several clinical trials have been conducted to evaluate new treatment options for SSc. The purpose of this work is to update the recommendations of the Brazilian Society of Rheumatology in light of the new evidence available for the pharmacological management of SSc. METHODS: A systematic review including randomized clinical trials (RCTs) for predefined questions that were elaborated according to the Patient/Population, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcomes (PICO) strategy was conducted. The rating of the available evidence was performed according to the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology. To become a recommendation, at least 75% agreement of the voting panel was needed. RESULTS: Six recommendations were elaborated regarding the pharmacological treatment of Raynaud's phenomenon, the treatment (healing) and prevention of digital ulcers, skin involvement, interstitial lung disease (ILD) and gastrointestinal involvement in SSc patients based on results available from RCTs. New drugs, such as rituximab, were included as therapeutic options for skin involvement, and rituximab, tocilizumab and nintedanib were included as therapeutic options for ILD. Recommendations for the pharmacological treatment of scleroderma renal crisis and musculoskeletal involvement were elaborated based on the expert opinion of the voting panel, as no placebo-controlled RCTs were found. CONCLUSION: These guidelines updated and incorporated new treatment options for the management of SSc based on evidence from the literature and expert opinion regarding SSc, providing support for decision-making in clinical practice.
Subject(s)
Raynaud Disease , Rheumatology , Scleroderma, Systemic , Scleroderma, Systemic/complications , Scleroderma, Systemic/drug therapy , Humans , Brazil , Rheumatology/standards , Raynaud Disease/drug therapy , Societies, Medical , Lung Diseases, Interstitial/drug therapy , Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized/therapeutic use , Rituximab/therapeutic use , Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic , Skin Ulcer/etiology , Antirheumatic Agents/therapeutic useABSTRACT
Antissintetase Syndrome (ASS) is characterized by myositis, Raunaud's phenomenon, fever, intertitial lung disease, mechanic's hands and arthropathy associated with the presence of antibodies against tRNA synthetase, especially anti-Jo-1. This article aims to review the literature on ASS and report two cases where the first is a patient with polymyositis who developed subluxation on the proximal interphalangeal joint of bilateral first right finger after a few years of the disease, associated with pulmonary manifestations and positive anti-JO-1. In the second case, we present a patient with dermatomyositis, who developed a subluxation of the two first fingers, anti-Jo1 positive and chest CT changes, but without clinical evidence of pulmonary involvement. These cases reveal the importance of performing early diagnosis. The authors describe two cases of this rare syndrome, emphasizing the severity of interstitial lung disease and arthritis.
