Clinical significance of subcutaneous calcinosis in patients with systemic sclerosis. Does diltiazem induce its regression?

OBJECTIVE: To establish whether diltiazem reduces subcutaneous calcinosis (SCC) in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc), and whether this calcinosis is related to other signs or symptoms.

METHODS: 47 patients with SSc were evaluated and divided into two groups according to the presence or absence of SCC.

RESULTS: Among the 12 patients with SCC who were treated with diltiazem and had sequential hand radiographs (differential time between the two radiographs: 7.8+/-4 years), there was a slight radiological improvement in three patients only. More patients with SCC had anticentromere antibodies than patients without (p = 0.003), fewer had anti-Scl 70 antibodies (p = 0.01), more had telangiectasia and giant capillaries ( p + 0.04 and 0.048 respectively), and SCC patients had significantly fewer capillaries at the nailfold (p = 0.03).

CONCLUSION: These results do not clearly indicate that diltiazem is effective in calcinosis associated with SSc. Among the patients with SSc, those who also had SCC exhibited a distinctive autoimmune profile and more severe cutaneous capillary injury than those without SCC.