Inflammatory arthritis in systemic sclerosis: What to do?

Overview

Musculoskeletal involvement, including arthritis and tendinopathy, is a common and important determinant of disability and impaired quality of life in systemic sclerosis. However, the treatment of arthritis in systemic sclerosis has not been studied as a primary outcome in randomized controlled trials, and arthritis-specific outcome measures for systemic sclerosis have not been sufficiently validated to date. Rheumatologists caring for patients with systemic sclerosis must address these complaints regularly despite the fact that the level of evidence for the treatment of systemic sclerosis-related inflammatory arthritis is limited. Consensus statements, based on treatments for related musculoskeletal aspects of rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and other autoimmune diseases, support the use of methotrexate and hydroxychloroquine. Newer biologics, which have efficacy in the treatment of other autoimmune conditions, may show promise in the treatment of arthritis in systemic sclerosis. In this article, we review the current literature on the assessment and treatment of systemic sclerosis arthritis in order to address management considerations.