Table 3.
Admission demographics, presenting symptoms, workups, and outcomes by subgroup.
| Medical therapy (n = 18, 22 admissions) | Procedure (n = 5, 10 admissions) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Demographics | |||
| Sex | 15 F, 3 M | 4 F, 1 M | p = 1.00 |
| Age | 62.1 (7.1) | 51.8 (9.2) | p = 0.01 |
| Race | 12 C, 3 AA, 2 other, and 1 unknown | 2 C, 2 AA, and 1 unknown | |
| Limited versus diffuse | 6 limited, 1 diffuse, and 11 unknown | 5 diffuse | |
|
| |||
| Scleroderma disease characteristics | |||
| Raynaud phenomenon | 6 | 2 | |
| Digital ulcers | 1 | 0 | |
| Interstitial lung disease | 5 | 2 | |
| Esophageal involvement | 2 | 0 | |
|
| |||
| Symptoms | |||
| Shortness of breath | 12 | 3 | |
| Chest pain | 2 | 0 | |
| Fever | 2 | 0 | |
|
| |||
| Workup | |||
| Reported hypoxia | 7 | 0 | |
| Pericardial effusion size | 1 small, 12 mod-large, 5 large | 1 mod, 4 large | |
| Right heart failure | 11 | 0 | |
| Tamponade physiology | 2 | 2 | |
| Pulmonary artery hypertension | 14 (2 unknown) | 3 | p = 0.22 |
| PASP by echo (mmHg) | 79.8 ± 45 | 39.7 ± 11 | p = 0.06 |
| WBC (109/L) | 10 ± 5.2 | 8.7 ± 4.8 | p = 0.56 |
| Hgb (g/dL) | 11.6 ± 2.1 | 10.3 ± 2.8 | p = 0.26 |
| Plt (109/L) | 292 ± 126 | 275 ± 150 | p = 0.79 |
| Cr (mg/dL) | 1.2 ± 0.51 | 2.6 ± 2.5 | p = 0.03 |
| BUN (mg/dL) | 22.6 ± 7.7 | 27.5 ± 31 | p = 0.53 |
| AST (U/L) | 17.4 ± 6.5 | 15.5 ± 2 (2 patients) | |
| ALT (U/L) | 25.2 ± 9.1 | 37.5 ± 12 (2 patients) | |
| proBNP (pg/ml) | 4671.6 ± 4011 | 338.5 ± 269 | p = 0.15 |
| ANA | 10 pos, 2 neg | 4 pos, 1 neg | |
| ANA pattern | 2 nucleolar, 4 centromeres, 2 speckled, 1 diffuse, and 1 unknown | 2 nucleolar, 1 speckled, and 1 diffuse | |
| Scl-70 Ab | 12 neg | 4 neg | |
| ESR (mm/hr) | 51.6 ± 31 | None reported | |
| CRP (mg/dL) | 47 ± 46 | 1.9 (1 patient) | |
|
| |||
| Outcomes | |||
| Readmission in 90 days | 3 readmissions in 2 patients | 1 | |
| Death (as of 2/2017) | 7 (2 during the admission) | 1 | |