The role of inflammatory markers in assessment of disease activity in systemic sclerosis

The role of the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) in the assessment of disease activity in systemic sclerosis (SSc) remains controversial. We sought to evaluate the relationship between clinical features of SSc and raised inflammatory markers and to determine if changes in ESR and CRP reflect changes in other disease features over time. One thousand, five hundred and forty-five patients enrolled in the Australian Scleroderma Cohort Study were observed over a mean 3.52±2.91 years and assessed at 6,119 study visits. Generalised estimating equations were used to determine the relationship between ESR≥20mm/hr and CRP≥5mg/L and features of disease. The associations between change in inflammatory markers and change in skin scores and respiratory function tests were analysed. Overall, there was a significant association between raised ESR and forced vital capacity (FVC)