Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39374539›Full record

ArticleRheumatology (Oxford, England)2025

Demographics and clinical features associated with abnormal small bowel motility in systemic sclerosis.

Jenice X Cheah, Jamie Perin, Michael Hughes, Christopher A Mecoli, Julie J Paik, Laura K Hummers, Ami A Shah, Zsuzsanna H McMahan

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Rheumatology (Oxford, England), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Jenice X CheahDepartment of Medicine, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-0453-7433
Jamie PerinDepartment of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-5482-6620
Michael HughesDepartment of Rheumatology, Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, Salford Care Organisation, Salford, UK.
Christopher A MecoliDepartment of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-1429-8392
Julie J PaikDepartment of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-8436-1601
Laura K HummersDepartment of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Ami A ShahDepartment of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Zsuzsanna H McMahanDivision of Rheumatology, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-6461-8940

Funding

Sample Processing and Immunoassay Research CoreP30AR070254 · NIAMS · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI Antony Rosen · 2016 to 2026
$8.9M
Interrogating the pathophysiological mechanisms of constipation in patients with systemic sclerosisR01AR081382 · NIAMS · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCI CTR HOUSTON · PI Jiande Chen, Zsuzsanna Hortobagyi McMahan · 2023 to 2026
$2.4M
Harnessing multivariate patient- and population-level disease trajectories to predict major clinical events in sclerodermaK24AR080217 · NIAMS · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI Ami Aalok Shah · 2022 to 2026
$847k
Scleroderma and Gastrointestinal Disease: Insights into Clinical Phenotypes and Disease PathogenesisK23AR071473 · NIAMS · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI MCMAHAN, ZSUZSANNA HORTOBAGYI · 2018 to 2022
$808k
Optimizing the Approach to Identify Cancer-Associated MyositisK23AR075898 · NIAMS · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI MECOLI, CHRISTOPHER · 2019 to 2023
$773k
NIAMS NIH HHS K23 AR071473NIAMS NIH HHS K23 AR075898NIAMS NIH HHS K24 AR080217NIAMS NIH HHS P30 AR070254NIAMS NIH HHS R01 AR081382NIAMS NIH HHS R01 AR081382-01A1NIH HHS
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveThe small bowel is affected in up to 50% of systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients, and some patients experience severe complications. Our aim was to use specific statistical methods to compare demographic and clinical features of SSc patients with and without abnormal small bowel to better characterize patients at risk for this complication.

methodsSSc patients with gastrointestinal symptoms were prospectively enrolled and underwent a scintigraphy-based whole gut transit (WGT) study. A cross-sectional analysis was performed comparing clinical features between patients with and without abnormal small bowel transit by WGT. Univariate logistic regression models and multivariable models were used to examine the relationship between clinical features and abnormal small bowel transit.

resultsOf 130 patients enrolled in this study, 22 had abnormal small bowel transit. SSc patients with abnormal small bowel transit were more likely to be male [odds ratio (OR) = 3.70; 95% CI: 1.07, 12.50; P = 0.038] and have more severe cardiac involvement (OR = 3.98; 95% CI: 1.10, 14.38; P = 0.035), while they were less likely to have sicca symptoms (OR = 0.30; 95% CI: 0.10, 0.94; P = 0.039). In multivariable analyses, sicca symptoms (OR = 0.28; 95% CI: 0.08, 0.96; P = 0.043) remained negatively associated with abnormal small bowel transit. Additionally, SSc patients with abnormal small bowel transit had higher mortality than patients with normal small bowel transit [hazard ratio (HR) = 4.57; 95% CI: 1.58, 13.24; P = 0.005].

conclusionsThese findings suggest that patients with abnormal small bowel transit in SSc are more likely to be male, have more severe cardiac involvement, higher mortality and fewer sicca symptoms. Recognizing this patient subgroup is essential for risk stratification and optimizing clinical care.

Indexed as

Gastrointestinal MotilityGastrointestinal TransitIntestine, SmallScleroderma, SystemicAdultAgedCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedProspective StudiesRadionuclide ImagingSex Factorsgastrointestinalmotilitysclerodermasmall bowelsystemic sclerosis

Identifiers

PMID39374539
PMCPMC12048077

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.