Table 1.

Main studies of laser Doppler monitoring and capillaroscopy to evaluate microvascular damage in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc).

Study	No. Patients	Methods	Main Findings
Correa²	44	LDI and NFC	LDI and NFC are complementary tools for evaluation of different aspects of SSc microangiopathy
Cutolo³	34	LDF and NVC	Fingertip blood perfusion correlated negatively with the extent of the nailfold microvascular damage scored according to NVC classification
Rosato⁵	142	LDI and NVC	Skin blood perfusion showed a negative correlation with microvascular damage scored according to NVC classification
Rosato⁶	30	LDI and NVC	In SSc patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension, bosentan improved skin perfusion, particularly in patients with the early/active capillaroscopic patterns
Rosato⁷	100	LDI, NVC, and PPG	A strong correlation exists between capillaroscopic patterns and digital skin perfusion and pulsatility of digital arteries
Murray⁸	16	LDI, NFC, and thermal imaging	LDI and thermal imaging give equivalent information on dynamic changes in the cutaneous microcirculation. However, a combination of all 3 techniques improves classification
Mugii⁹	127	NVC	Red blood cell velocity was significantly associated with NVC findings. Patients with the scleroderma active and late NVC pattern showed a lower red blood cell velocity compared with scleroderma early pattern
Rosato¹⁰	40	LDI and NVC	In early SSc, thermoregulation of finger skin is impaired. With progression of NVC damage, the abnormal microvascular response to cold stimulation also appears in the hand dorsum skin

LDI: laser Doppler imaging; LDF: laser Doppler flowmetry; NFC: nailfold capillaroscopy; NVC: nailfold videocapillaroscopy; PPG: photoplethysmography.