What is the likely outcome and expected survival with systemic sclerosis?
A . This largely depends on which organs are involved. In the past patients died more often from renal complications but we are much better able to treat patients with this complication nowadays. Renal crisis occurs more often in patients with diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis in the first two years after presentation, so by educating patients to report the early warning signs we can save their kidneys by initiating early treatment. Pulmonary hypertension which occurs in isolation in some patients with limited cutaneous systemic sclerosis carries a poor prognosis, but again we have much better treatments for this and by monitoring our patients with yearly lung function and echocardiogram we are able to treat them early. For the vast majority of patients the outlook is good. So that we can usually be reassuring and treat them for their circulation problems and bowel symptoms with well tried treatments.
