SSc-PAH diagnosed according to right heart catheterization criteria – longitudinal studies.
| Capillaroscopic Ch aracteristics | Significant Association | Non-significant Association | Conclusion | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quantitative | ||||
| Density | Capillary loss at inclusion | N/A | SSc-PAH (HR 3.92, 95% CI 0.8 8–17.36, p = 0.074)31 | Progressive capillary loss was unequivocally associated with incident SSc-PAH in 2 longitudinal studies |
| Progressive capillary loss | SSc-PAH (p = 0.04; HR 18.53, 95% CI 1.28–78.33, p = 0.033)30,31 | N/A | ||
| Dimension | Presence of giant capillaries at inclusion | N/A | SSc-PAH (HR 0.68, 95% CI 0.28–2.09, p = 0.638)31 | No association |
| Progression of giant capillaries | N/A | SSc-PAH (HR 0.31, 95% CI 0.15–1.07, p = 0.062)31 | ||
| Morphology | Abnormal morphology at inclusion | SSc-PAH (HR 11.12, 95% CI 1.19–103.79, p = 0.036)31 | N/A | Abnormal morphology at inclusion was more commonly associated with incident SSc-PAH in 1 longitudinal study |
| Progression of abnormal morpholo gy | SSc-PAH, p = 0.0430 | SSc-PAH (HR 1.14, 95% CI 0.22–5.86, p = 0.872)31 | ||
| Hemorrhages | Presence of hemorrhages at inclusion | N/A | SSc-PAH (HR 0.98, 95% CI 0.42–2.30, p = 0.969)31 | No association |
| Progression of hemorrhages | N/A | SSc-PAH (HR 0.44, 95% CI 0.05–3.55, p = 0.443)31 | ||
| Semiquantitative | ||||
| NVC score | N/A | N/A | Not investigated | |
| Avascular area grade | N/A | N/A | Not investigated | |
| Qualitative | ||||
| Progression to a severe NVC pattern (active/late vs normal/early) | SSc-PAH (p = 0.05/p = 0.01; HR 5.12, 95% CI 1.23–21.27)30,31 | N/A | Progression to a severe NVC pattern (active/late) was unequivocally associated with incident SSc-PAH in 2 longitudinal studies | |
SSc-PAH: systemic sclerosis–related pulmonary arterial hypertension; NVC: nailfold videocapillaroscopy; N/A: not applicable.