Ongoing recruitment

The Natural History and Outcome of Patients with Scleroderma at High Risk for or with Early Pulmonary Hypertention

Study sponsor:
Scleroderma Foundation, Sibley Foundation and Actelion Pharmaceuticals

Coordinating_center:
Georgetown Universtiy Medical Center Division of Rheumatology, Immunology and Allergy
Principal Investigator: Virginia D. Steen, MD
Project Coordinator: Suria Yesmin
Phone: (202) 687-6317
Email: sy86@georgetown.edu

Other centers:
Boston University
Principal Investigator: Robert W. Simms, MD
Project Coordinator: Kim Tobin
Phone: (617) 638-4310
Email: kimtobin@bu.edu
Not yet recruiting

University of Pittsburgh Division of Rheumatology
Principal Investigator: Tom Medsger, MD
Project Coordinator: Jennifer Jablon
Phone: (412)383-8674
Email: JablonJ@dom.pitt.edu
Not yet recruiting

John Hopkins University
Principal Investigator: Fredrick Wigley, MD
Project Coordinator: Adrianne Woods
Research Nurse Coordinator: Edrick Forbes
Phone: (410) 550-8582
Email: eborbes1@jhmi.edu

The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston
Principal Investigator: Maureen D. Mayes, MD MPH
Project Coordinator: Marcia Kerr, RN
Phone: (718) 500-7118
Email: Marcia.L.Kerr@uth.tmc.edu

Medical University of South Carolina Division of Rheumatology & Immunology
Principal Investigator: Marcy Bloster, MD
Project Coordinator: Trisha Sturgill
Phone: (843) 792-5290
Email: sturgilt@musc.edu

Northwestern University Division of Rheumatology
Principal Investigator: John Varga, MD
Project Coordinator: Anabel Garza
Phone: (312) 503-0377
Email: a-garza@northwestern.edu

Center for Rheumatology, Albany
Principal Investigator: Lee Shapiro, MD
Project Coordinator: Tanya Sommers, BS RN CCRC
Phone: (518) 533-1326
Email: tsommers@joint-docs.com

University of Medicine and Dentistry, New Jersey
Principal Investigator: Vivien Hsu, MD
Project Coordinator: Julianne Wilson, BSN RN
Phone: (732) 235-7583
Email: wilsonj6@umdnj.edu

The Medical College of Wisconsin Department of Medicine & Rheumatolgy
Principal Investigator: Mary Ellen Csuka, MD
Email: mecsuka@mcw.edu

University of Michigan Division of Rheumatology
Principal Investigator: James R. Seibold, MD
Project Coordinator: Ann Julie Impens, PhD
Phone: (734) 936-1439
Email: aimpens@med.umich.edu
Not yet recruiting

Thomas Jefferson University
Principal Investigator: Chris Derk, MD
Email: chris.derk@jefferson.edu

University of California, Los Angeles Division of Rheumatology
Principal Investigator: Daniel Furst, MD
Project Coordinator: Tina Burger
Phone: (310) 825-3061
Email: CBurger@mednet.ucla.edu

University of Connecticut
Principal Investigator: Naomi Rothfield, MD
Email: rothfield@nso.uchc.edu

Stanford University Division of Rheumatology and Immunology
Principal Investigator: Lorinda Chung, MD
Phone: (650) 493-5000
Email: shauwei@stanford.edu
Not yet recruiting

Study design:
Systemic Sclerosis (SSc) is a rare, often fatal idiopathic disease, which has no effective therapy. One of the major complications of systemic sclerosis is pulmonary hypertension (PHT), which is now the cause of all scleroderma related deaths. In light of this, PHAROS (Pulmonary Hypertension Assessment Registry of Scleroderma) was developed to determine the timeline of pathologic progression of pulmonary hypertension from pre-pulmonary hypertension to diagnosable pulmonary hypertension, to clinical worsening of disease. The purpose is to determine the best risk factors for detecting pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in scleroderma patients. Patients entered into the registry will be followed in prospective fashion noting the clinical course of disease by both scheduled and event driven follow-up. A thorough baseline history will be collected to determine key prognostic and correlative factors for both disease prevalence and progression. Yearly follow-up consisting of pulmonary functional test, echocardiogram, 6 minute walk test and predefined patient characteristics will also be conducted to further understand and note the progression of scleroderma related PAH. Event driven follow up will occur to record finding and record specific predetermined events in the clinical course of disease. Over the next several years, 400 patients will be entered by SCTC/PHAROS participating centers.

Inclusion criteria:
Eligible patients at high risk for PAH (or with ‘pre’ PAH) will have the following: 1. An increased resting pulmonary artery pressure on echocardiogram >35mmHg, or 2. A decreased DLCO <55% predicted (without severe interstitial fibrosis) or 3. FVC/DLCO ratio > 1.6 Patients with early PAH will have a documented mean PAP >25mmHg on right heart catheterization within 6 months of entry.

Exclusion criteria:
Diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary hypertension for >6 months.

Primary outcome measure:
The time from "early" pulmonary hypertension to diagnosable pulmonary hypertension will be expressed in terms of the standard deviation and mean number of days from diagnosis of "early" PHT to diagnosable PHT.

Secondary outcome measures:
The time from diagnosable pulmonary hypertension to occurance of clinical worsening will be expressed in terms of the standard deviation and mean number of days from diagnosis of PHT to the event documentation of clinical worsening.

Recruitment period:
Ongoing

Completion:
2010

Date of expected analysis:
Data analysis will begin at the completion of this observational clinical research study.

Return to Current Studies