Abstract
We performed a cross-sectional study of the demography, clinical and laboratory features of patients with systemic sclerosis patients followed up in our centre from 1984 to 2007. There were 23 cases with the majority of them (96%) being female. They have a mean age of 50.3 years and a mean disease duration of 6.02 (SD 5.82) years. Our patients comprised of multi-ethnic groups with predominantly Chinese (52%), Sarawak natives (35%) and Malays (13%). They have a mean lag time to diagnosis of 24.8 (SD 34.8) months. All the patients have sclerodermatous skin changes with 16(70%) having diffuse scleroderma and 7(30%) having limited scleroderma. The common clinical manifestations found in our patients were Raynaud’s phenomenon (91%), sclerodactyly (65%), digital ulcers (52%) and pulmonary fibrosis (52%). There was low incidence of pulmonary hypertension (13%) and renal involvement (4%). The majority of our patients (67%) have positive ANA with 33% positive Scl-70. The majority received calcium channel blockers (87%), aspirin (48%) and low-dose prednisolone (48%). One patient developed adenocarcinoma of the lung on follow-up. This study demonstrated the rarity of systemic sclerosis in our centre with considerable lag time to diagnosis in our patients. Diffuse cutaneous systemic scleroderma is more common in our centre with rare pulmonary hypertension and renal involvement.
References
Pagalavan L, Ong SG (2007) Demography, clinical and laboratory features of systemic sclerosis in a Malaysian rheumatology centre. Med J Malaysia 62(2):117–121
Health Facts Sarawak (2006) Sarawak State Health Department (Information and Documentation Unit) http://jknsarawak.moh.gov.my/modules/xt_conteudo/index.php?id=6. Accessed online on 17 November 2008
Mayes MD (2003) Scleroderma epidemiology. Rheum Dis Clin North Am 29(2):239–254. doi:10.1016/S0889-857X(03)00022-X
Sharma VK, Trilokraj T, Khaitan BK, Krishna SM (2006) Profile of systemic sclerosis in a tertiary care center in North India. Indian J Dermatol Venereol Leprol 72(6):416–420
Chatterjee S, Dombi GW, Severson RK, Mayes MD (2005) Risk of malignancy in scleroderma: a population-based cohort study. Arthritis Rheum 52(8):2415–2424. doi:10.1002/art.21225
Acknowledgments
We would like to acknowledge the support of the Ministry of Health, Malaysia, for technical support of the study.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Teh, C.L., Kuan, Y.C. & Wong, J.S. Systemic sclerosis in Sarawak: a profile of patients treated in the Sarawak General Hospital. Rheumatol Int 29, 1243–1245 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-009-0938-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-009-0938-z