A patient-centered approach to the burden of symptoms in patients with scleroderma treated with Bosentan: A prospective single-center observational study.

A patient-centered approach to the burden of symptoms in patients with scleroderma treated with Bosentan: A prospective single-center observational study. Exp Ther Med. 2020 Mar;19(3):1739-1746 Authors: Rezus E, Burlui AM, Gafton B, Stratulat TA, Zota GR, Cardoneanu A, Rezus C Abstract Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a rare and complex autoimmune disease associated with poor vital and functional outcomes. The functional hindrance in patients derives from various disease-specific manifestations, including Raynaud's phenomenon and digital ulcers (DUs). Bosentan is an endothelin receptor antagonist capable of preventing the appearance of new DUs in patients with scleroderma. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of Bosentan on the severity of Raynaud's phenomenon, DU-related symptoms and functional impairment during the first year of treatment. A prospective study that included adult patients with SSc admitted to the Rheumatology Department between January 2016 and January 2017 that were candidates for Bosentan therapy, was performed. All patients were asked to evaluate the burden of symptoms secondary to Raynaud's and DUs using a visual analogue scale (VAS), whereas functional hindrance was assessed via Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index (HAQ-DI). The outcomes were assessed at baseline and every 3 months during 1 year of therapy. Among the 41 patients included initially, 2 participants discontinued the treatment aft...
Source: Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine - Category: General Medicine Tags: Exp Ther Med Source Type: research