Table 2.
Calf muscle blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) key parameters of all eleven patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and twelve volunteers
| Volunteers | SSc patients | P-value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| T2*min (%) | |||
| Soleus, mean (SD) | -10.3 (4.0) | -13.4 (6.9) | 0.20 |
| Gastrocnemius, mean (SD) | -8.0 (4.6) | -18.0 (9.9) | 0.005 |
| Both, mean (SD) | -9.1 (3.5) | -15.0 (7.3) | 0.021 |
| T2*max (%) | |||
| Soleus, median (IQR) | 26.4 (20.0, 30.6) | 15.7 (6.5, 21.9) | < 0.007 |
| Gastrocnemius, median (IQR) | 17.2 (9.4, 32.0) | 4.3 (0.1, 6.4) | 0.002 |
| Both, median (IQR) | 20.1 (17.0, 29.6) | 9.2 (4.4, 17.5) | 0.007 |
| TTP (s) | |||
| Soleus, median (IQR) | 32.0 (30.0, 35.5) | 38.0 (34.0, 54.0) | 0.037 |
| Gastrocnemius, median (IQR) | 34.0 (27.5, 37.3) | 42.0 (38.0, 50.0) | 0.002 |
| Both, median (IQR) | 33.5 (29.5, 36.5) | 39.0 (35.0, 56.0) | 0.026 |
| DS60 s *10-4 (s-1) | |||
| Soleus, mean (SD) | -17.9 (4.9) | -10.3 (5.7) | 0.002 |
| Gastrocnemius, mean (SD) | -14.7 (6.1) | -6.6 (7.0) | < 0.001 |
| Both, mean (SD) | -16.5 (4.6) | -7.3 (4.9) | < 0.001 |
| DS120 s *10-4 (s-1) | |||
| Soleus, mean (SD) | -14.8 (3.3) | -6.2 (4.4) | < 0.001 |
| Gastrocnemius, mean (SD) | -11.7 (5.6) | -4.5 (4.9) | 0.004 |
| Both, mean (SD) | -13.7 (4.1) | -4.6 (3.6) | <0.001 |
| EV (%) | |||
| Soleus mean (SD) | -0.3 (3.9) | 1.0 (4.4) | 0.45 |
| Gastrocnemius, mean (SD) | 0.8 ± 3.3 | -0.3 (3.4) | 0.41 |
| Both, mean (SD) | -0.7 (4.2) | -0.3 (2.7) | 0.77 |
Parameters were obtained for the soleus and gastrocnemius muscle. Normally distributed parameters are provided as means with SD, non-normally distributed parameters are provided as medians with interquartile ranges (IQR). T2*min, ischemic minimum of T2*; T2*max, T2* peak value during reactive hyperemia; TTP, time to peak; DS, declining slope after hyperemia peaking; EV, T2* end value. T2*min, T2*max and EV were calculated relative to baseline. DS60s and DS120s represent T2*declining slopes between T2*max and 60 s or 120 s afterwards.