Colon involvement in systemic sclerosis: Clinical-radiological correlations

About one third of all patients with systemic sclerosis (SS) presents colon abnormalities, although these may be underestimated because they frequently remain asymptomatic for a long time. Thirty-five patients (33 women and 2 men; mean age 56.5 years; mean disease duration 11.9 years) affected by SS (25 with limited and 10 with diffuse pattern of skin involvement) were investigated using barium enema to detect radiological changes in the colon, and to correlate them with other visceral involvement, autoantibody profile, abdominal symptoms and duration of the disease. Ten patients (28.6%) showed X-rays abnormalities (excluding isolated diverticula), wide-mouthed sacculations being the most frequent finding. Our data confirm that the colon is frequently involved in SS, even in the limited form of the disease. The most relevant finding was the dissociation between clinical symptoms and radiological features which proved to be more evident among the patients with limited SS. No correlations were found between the radiological picture and any other parameter, thus suggesting that careful evaluation of the colon should be performed in any patient suffering from the disease.