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The following is a summary of “Foot peripheral sensory neuropathy: a frequent disabling manifestation in systemic sclerosis,” published in the January 2025 issue of Rheumatology by Alcacer-Pitarch et al. 

Peripheral sensory neuropathy (PSN) is often under-recognized in systemic sclerosis (SSc). Foot involvement in SSc is common but inadequately studied. 

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to characterize foot PSN in patients with SSc and its associations with disease features, disability, and quality of life (QoL). 

They enrolled patients with SSc and healthy controls (HC), comparable for age and gender, in a cross-sectional case-control study. All subjects underwent quantitative sensory testing of feet and patient-reported outcomes to assess neuropathic symptoms, foot disability, and QoL. 

The results showed that 109 patients with SSc (88.1% female, median age 59.0 years) and 51 HC were enrolled. Patients with SSc had significant impairments in all sensory parameters (P ≤ 0.01 for all). Foot PSN was present in 85.3% of patients, with 80% having small fiber and 57% large fiber neuropathy, co-existing in 51.4%. PSN was associated with age, smoking, foot ulceration, disease duration, and corticosteroids use. 80.6% of subjects with PSN reported at least 1 neuropathic symptom. Patients with neuropathic symptoms had worse physical function, foot disability, and impaired QoL. 

Investigators found foot PSN to be a common and disabling manifestation in patients with SSc, involving both small and large fibers, and recommended its inclusion in the SSc workup. 

Source: academic.oup.com/rheumatology/advance-article/doi/10.1093/rheumatology/keaf047/7989304