Clinical course of lung physiology in patients with scleroderma and interstitial lung disease: analysis of the Scleroderma Lung Study Placebo Group.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Patients with systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD) are thought to have the greatest decline in lung function (forced vital capacity [FVC]% predicted) in the early years after disease onset. The aim of this study was to assess the natural history of the decline in FVC% predicted in patients receiving placebo in the Scleroderma Lung Study and to evaluate possible factors for cohort enrichment in future therapeutic trials.

Methods

Patients randomized to receive placebo (n=79) were divided into 3 groups based on the duration of SSc (0-2 years, 2-4 years, and >4 years). Descriptive statistics and a mixed-effects model were used to analyze the rate of decline in the FVC% predicted over a 1-year period. Additional analyses stratified according

SUBMITTER: Khanna D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3183128 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature