To the Editor:
Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a common pulmonary manifestation in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). Pneumomediastinum occasionally develops in patients with connective tissue diseases (CTD) and ILD, but is rare in SSc1,2,3. Although gastrointestinal (GI) involvement is common in patients with SSc, pneumatosis cystoides intestinalis (PCI), which is characterized by the presence of gas-filled cysts in the intestinal wall, is a rare complication4. We encountered a patient with SSc who showed simultaneous occurrence of pneumomediastinum and PCI.
A 61-year-old Japanese woman had been diagnosed with SSc 6 years earlier based on the findings of proximal scleroderma, positive antinuclear antibody (1:640 with nucleolar and homogeneous patterns), positive anti-Scl-70 antibody (1:16), and ILD. Fingertip ulceration had developed 4 years before. Prednisolone (20 mg/day) had been started 2 years before for her skin sclerosis. She had gradually lost her appetite and her weight had declined by 15 kg over the previous 6 months. She was admitted to our division because of …
Address correspondence to Dr. Nagashima; E-mail: naga4ma{at}jichi.ac.jp
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