Antunes M, Scire CA, Talarico R, Alexander T, Avcin T, Belocchi C, et al. Undifferentiated connective tissue disease: state of the art on clinical practice guidelines. RMD Open. 2018;4(Suppl 1):e000786. https://doi.org/10.1136/rmdopen-2018-000786.
Alarcon GS, Williams GV, Singer JZ, Steen VD, Clegg DO, Paulus HE, et al. Early undifferentiated connective tissue disease. I. Early clinical manifestation in a large cohort of patients with undifferentiated connective tissue diseases compared with cohorts of well established connective tissue disease. J Rheumatol. 1991;18(9):1332–9.
LeRoy EC, Maricq HR, Kahaleh MB. Undifferentiated connective tissue syndromes. Arthritis Rheum. 1980;23(3):341–3. https://doi.org/10.1002/art.1780230312.
Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
Calvo-Alen J, Alarcon GS, Burgard SL, Burst N, Bartolucci AA, Williams HJ. Systemic lupus erythematosus: predictors of its occurrence among a cohort of patients with early undifferentiated connective tissue disease: multivariate analyses and identification of risk factors. J Rheumatol. 1996;23(3):469–75.
Mosca M, Tavoni A, Neri R, Bencivelli W, Bombardieri S. Undifferentiated connective tissue diseases: the clinical and serological profiles of 91 patients followed for at least 1 year. Lupus. 1998;7(2):95–100. https://doi.org/10.1191/096120398678919787.
Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
Danieli MG, Fraticelli P, Salvi A, Gabrielli A, Danieli G. Undifferentiated connective tissue disease: natural history and evolution into definite CTD assessed in 84 patients initially diagnosed as early UCTD. Clin Rheumatol. 1998;17(3):195–201. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01451046.
Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
Mosca M, Neri R, Bombardieri S. Undifferentiated connective tissue diseases (UCTD): a review of the literature and a proposal for preliminary classification criteria. Clin Exp Rheumatol. 1999;17(5):615–20.
Danieli MG, Fraticelli P, Franceschini F, Cattaneo R, Farsi A, Passaleva A, et al. Five-year follow-up of 165 Italian patients with undifferentiated connective tissue diseases. Clin Exp Rheumatol. 1999;17(5):585–91.
Cavazzana I, Franceschini F, Belfiore N, Quinzanini M, Caporali R, Calzavara-Pinton P, et al. Undifferentiated connective tissue disease with antibodies to Ro/SSa: clinical features and follow-up of 148 patients. Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2001;19(4):403–9.
Bodolay E, Csiki Z, Szekanecz Z, Ben T, Kiss E, Zeher M, et al. Five-year follow-up of 665 Hungarian patients with undifferentiated connective tissue disease (UCTD). Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2003;21(3):313–20.
De Angelis R, Cerioni A, Del Medico P, Blasetti P. Raynaud’s phenomenon in undifferentiated connective tissue disease (UCTD). Clin Rheumatol. 2005;24(2):145–51. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-004-0988-2.
Vaz CC, Couto M, Medeiros D, Miranda L, Costa J, Nero P, et al. Undifferentiated connective tissue disease: a seven-center cross-sectional study of 184 patients. Clin Rheumatol. 2009;28(8):915–21. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-009-1175-2.
Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
Castellino G, Capucci R, Bernardi S, Padovan M, Giacuzzo S, Pivato E, et al. Pregnancy in patients with undifferentiated connective tissue disease: a prospective case-control study. Lupus. 2011;20(12):1305–11. https://doi.org/10.1177/0961203311409610.
Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
Guerrero LF, Rueda JC, Arciniegas R, Rueda JM. Undifferentiated connective tissue disease in a rheumatology center in Cali, Colombia: clinical features of 94 patients followed for a year. Rheumatol Int. 2013;33(4):1085–8. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-011-2234-y.
Garcia-Gonzalez M, Rodriguez-Lozano B, Bustabad S, Ferraz-Amaro I. Undifferentiated connective tissue disease: predictors of evolution into definite disease. Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2017;35(5):739–45.
• Zucchi D, Tani C, Monacci F, Elefante E, Carli L, Parma A, et al. Pregnancy and undifferentiated connective tissue disease: outcome and risk of flare in 100 pregnancies. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2020;59(6):1335–9. https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/kez440. This study demonstrates that pregnant UCTD patients have less adverse pregnancy outcomes when compared to individuals with a established CTD. Nonetheless, careful evaluation is suggested given that a minority of patients can still develop complications.
• Radin M, Rubini E, Cecchi I, Foddai SG, Barinotti A, Rossi D, et al. Disease evolution in a long-term follow-up of 104 undifferentiated connective tissue disease patients. Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2022;40(3):575–80. https://doi.org/10.55563/clinexprheumatol/7vp1bo. This single center study shows that up to 21% of UCTD patients progress to a definitive disease, results that are in line with our current report.
Mosca M, Tani C, Bombardieri S. Undifferentiated connective tissue diseases (UCTD): a new frontier for rheumatology. Best Pract Res Clin Rheumatol. 2007;21(6):1011–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.berh.2007.09.004.
Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
•• Sciascia S, Roccatello D, Radin M, Parodis I, Yazdany J, Pons-Estel G, et al. Differentiating between UCTD and early-stage SLE: from definitions to clinical approach. Nat Rev Rheumatol. 2022;18(1):9–21. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41584-021-00710-2. This review provides insight into key differences between UCTD and early SLE stages, additionally authors suggest a nomeclature for the SLE spectrum.
•• Drehmel KR, Erickson AR, England BR, Michaud KD, Sayles HR, Hearth-Holmes MP. Applying SLICC and ACR/EULAR systemic lupus erythematosus classification criteria in a cohort of patients with undifferentiated connective tissue disease. Lupus. 2021;30(2):280–4. https://doi.org/10.1177/0961203320976939. This study demonstrates that UCTD patients can be reclassified as SLE (14 - 20%) after adopting the latest SLE criteria.
Mosca M, Tani C, Carli L, Della Rossa A, Talarico R, Baldini C, et al. Analysis of the evolution of UCTD to defined CTD after a long term follow-up. Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2013;31(3):471.
Mosca M, Neri R, Bencivelli W, Tavoni A, Bombardieri S. Undifferentiated connective tissue disease: analysis of 83 patients with a minimum followup of 5 years. J Rheumatol. 2002;29(11):2345–9.
Williams HJ, Alarcon GS, Joks R, Steen VD, Bulpitt K, Clegg DO, et al. Early undifferentiated connective tissue disease (CTD). VI. An inception cohort after 10 years: disease remissions and changes in diagnoses in well established and undifferentiated CTD. J Rheumatol. 1999;26(4):816–25.
James JA, Kim-Howard XR, Bruner BF, Jonsson MK, McClain MT, Arbuckle MR, et al. Hydroxychloroquine sulfate treatment is associated with later onset of systemic lupus erythematosus. Lupus. 2007;16(6):401–9. https://doi.org/10.1177/0961203307078579.
Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
Lambers WM, Westra J, Bootsma H, de Leeuw K. From incomplete to complete systemic lupus erythematosus; a review of the predictive serological immune markers. Semin Arthritis Rheum. 2021;51(1):43–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.semarthrit.2020.11.006.
Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
Iudici M, Irace R, Riccardi A, Cuomo G, Vettori S, Valentini G. Longitudinal analysis of quality of life in patients with undifferentiated connective tissue diseases. Patient Relat Outcome Meas. 2017;8:7–13. https://doi.org/10.2147/PROM.S117767.
Article PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar
Lambers WM, Westra J, Arends S, Doornbos-van der Meer B, Horvath B, Bootsma H, et al. Persistent low complement levels and increased interferon gene expression are predictive for disease progression in patients with incomplete systemic lupus erythematosus. Joint Bone Spine. 2022;89(5):105381. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbspin.2022.105381.
Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
Luciano N, Baldini C, Tarantini G, Ferro F, Sernissi F, Varanini V, et al. Ultrasonography of major salivary glands: a highly specific tool for distinguishing primary Sjogren’s syndrome from undifferentiated connective tissue diseases. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2015;54(12):2198–204. https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/kev253.
Comments (0)