Table 1.

Characteristics of the patients.

	SSc patients (n = 15)
Male/female	0/15
Age (years), median ± IQR	55 (39–63)
Cutaneous form: limited/diffuse	11/4
Anti-centromere/anti-topoisomerase I auto-antibodies	7/6
mRSS	8.5 (3–27)
Disease duration ≤3 years/>3 years	5/10
Medsger Severity Scale
Grade 0–1–2 versus Grade 3–4	0–4–5 versus 2–4
Pitting scars	10
Digital ulcers	5
Telangiectasias	10
Pulmonary function tests
– TLCO (%)	57 (45–71)
– TLCO/VA (%)	67.8 (56.1–76.5)
– FVC (%)	100.1 (68.38–111.8)
Lung fibrosis on HRCT scan	4
Pulmonary arterial fibrosis	3

Quantitative variables are described using median and IQR (first quartile–third quartile).

mRSS, modified Rodnan sclerosis score; DLCO, diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide; FVC, forced vital capacity; VA, alveolar volume; HRCT, high resolution computed tomography; IQR, interquartile range; SSc, systemic sclerosis.