Elastography as a possible useful method of assessment of skin involvement in systemic sclerosis

Introduction: Scleroderma (Sc) is a connective tissue disorder associated with internal organ involvement, increased mortality, and unknown pathogenesis. It has been found that the more extensive the skin involvement the more severe internal organ manifestations and increased disability. The Rodnan skin score (RSS) is one of the established methods to examine skin thickness among patients with Sc. Due to RSS limitations, for instance, lack of detection of subclinical changes, a new tool is needed for the evaluation of Sc. In recent studies, shear wave elastography (SWE) has been examined as a potential tool to assess skin involvement through the evaluation of skin strain. Aim: To verify whether elastography is a reliable method to examine Sc progression and possibly provide one useful site to perform the examination - as an easy, cheap, and reliable examination tool. Material and methods: Forty Sc patients were examined, and 28 healthy individuals were recruited for the control group. Among the patients and control group, skin thickness was assessed using the RSS and skin strain measurements using elastography in 20 body locations. Results: SWE in the right-hand finger can be treated as an important diagnostic indicator of the severity of Sc. Conclusions: SWE is a reliable method for evaluating skin involvement among patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). Right finger measurements correlate positively with Rodnan's results and can be a predictor of the severity of SSc. This study found SWE to be a reliable method for examining SSc progression and possibly one useful site for the examination.