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REVIEW PAPER
Nailfold capillaroscopy in rheumatic connective tissue diseases
1
Department of Rheumatology and Connective Tissue Diseases, Medical University of Lublin, Poland
Submission date: 2025-04-16
Final revision date: 2025-08-26
Acceptance date: 2025-09-22
Online publication date: 2025-12-03
Corresponding author
Ewa Wielosz
Department of Rheumatology and Connective Tissue Diseases, Medical University of Lublin, Poland
Department of Rheumatology and Connective Tissue Diseases, Medical University of Lublin, Poland
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Capillaroscopy is a non-invasive examination used for imaging of capillary vessels of the papillary layer of the finger nailfold. It allows the detection of microcirculation disorders in systemic connective tissue diseases. According to the “Fast Track” algorithm recommended by the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology, capillaroscopic findings should be categorized as a scleroderma or non-scleroderma pattern. Scleroderma microangiopathy may also occur in polymyositis and “scleroderma spectrum” diseases such as dermatomyositis, mixed connective tissue disease, or undifferentiated connective tissue disease. These capillaroscopic features are called scleroderma-like microangiopathy. Numerous studies have shown a correlation between capillaroscopic patterns and the severity of organ involvement. Available data indicate the occurrence of capillaroscopic changes in patients with other systemic connective tissue diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus, Sjögren’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and antiphospholipid syndrome. The importance of capillaroscopy in diseases beyond the scleroderma spectrum requires further investigation.
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Copyright: © Narodowy Instytut Geriatrii, Reumatologii i Rehabilitacji w Warszawie. This is an Open Access journal, all articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/), allowing third parties to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format and to remix, transform, and build upon the material, provided the original work is properly cited and states its license.
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