This study was conducted to evaluate the extent and nature of cardiac abnormalities
among patients with connective tissue diseases (CTD), eighty CTD patients were
included in comparison to 56 healthy controls. As regard Rheumaroid Arthritis group:
The incidence of cardiac lesions was (64%) of cases, the commonest valve to be affected,
was mitral valve (50%), there was significant correlation between echocardiographic
findings, pain scale (p=0.05) and functional capacity (p=0.003), there was non significant
relationship between the presence of cardiac lesions and disease duration (p=0.3) or
disease activity index (p=0.9), there was non significant relation between
echocardiographic findings and other clinical or laboratory parameters. As regard
Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis cases: The cardiac lesions were found in (50%) of cases, the
ijj.commonest lesion was pericardial lesion (28%), there was sinificant correlation between
iechocardiographic findings, age (p=0.04), disease duration (p=0.02) and pain score (p =
^0.03) and there was non significant correlation between echocardiographic findings and
disease activity index (p=0.2), articular index (p=0.3), ESR (p = 0.7), or Hb% (p = 0.8).
As regard group of SLE patients: The commonest lesions were mitral valve thickness
(40%) and aortic valve thickness (30%). There was significant correlation between
echocardiographic findings, age (p=0.006) and disease duration (p=0.0007). There was
insignificant correlation between echocardiographic findings and disease activity index
(p=0.6), ESR (P=0.4) or Hb% (p = 0.4). In Scleroderma group: The commonest lesions
were pulmonary hypertension (67%) and right ventricular filling defect (67%). There was
significant correlation between echocardiographic findings and age (p=0.01). There was
non significant correlation between echocardiographic findings, and disease duration
(p=0.052), ESR (p=0.2) or Hb% (p=0.7). As regard dermatomyositis: There was no
abnormal echocardiographic findings found in our cases. In Sjogren's syndrome the
commonest lesion was pulmonary hypertension and there was non significant correlation
with age of patients, disease duration, ESR or Hb%. |
