Nailfold capillary abnormalities in erectile dysfunction of systemic sclerosis: a EUSTAR group analysis.
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.
['Keck|Andrea D|AD|', 'Foocharoen|Chingching|C|', 'Rosato|Edoardo|E|', 'Smith|Vanessa|V|', 'Allanore|Yannick|Y|', 'Distler|Oliver|O|', 'Stamenkovic|Bojana|B|', 'Pereira Da Silva|José Antonio|JA|', 'Hadj Khelifa|Sondess|S|', 'Denisov|Lev N|LN|', 'Hachulla|Eric|E|', 'García de la Peña Lefebvre|Paloma|P|', 'Sibilia|Jean|J|', 'Airò|Paolo|P|', 'Caramaschi|Paola|P|', 'Müller-Ladner|Ulf|U|', 'Wiland|Piotr|P|', 'Walker|Ulrich A|UA|']
D000328:Adult D000368:Aged D002196:Capillaries D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies D018450:Disease Progression D007172:Erectile Dysfunction D006801:Humans D008297:Male D020678:Microscopic Angioscopy D008875:Middle Aged D012595:Scleroderma, Systemic D012720:Severity of Illness Index D012867:Skin
erectile dysfunction systemic sclerosis nailfold capillaroscopy ageing pathogenesis scleroderma pattern vasculopathy