ArticleACR open rheumatology2025
Limited Utility of Screening Electrocardiograms in Systemic Sclerosis: Data from the Canadian Scleroderma Research Group.
Article in ACR open rheumatology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
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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.
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.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Arrhythmias in Autoimmune Diseases: Immune-Mediated Mechanisms and Management.Journal of cardiovascular development and disease · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveRecommendations have been made to use electrocardiograms (EKGs) to screen for cardiac disease in systemic sclerosis (SSc). The objective of this study was to compare the prevalence of EKG abnormalities in SSc and controls to help determine if the EKG should be used as a screening tool.
methodsEKGs from patients with SSc were compared with those from a random sample of age- and gender-matched controls. Two cardiologists read all EKGs using a standardized approach. The groups were compared using t-tests, chi-squared tests, and Fisher exact tests.
resultsPatients with SSc (n = 833, mean ± SD disease duration 11.3 ± 9.3 years; 39.4% had diffuse cutaneous SSc) and controls (n = 832) were included. The prevalence of conduction and rhythm abnormalities were similar in the SSc and control groups. More patients with SSc than controls had possible right atrial enlargement (5% vs 0.1%, P < 0.001), right axis deviation (3.2% vs 0.4%, P < 0.001), left atrial enlargement (9.2% vs 1.6%, P < 0.001), poor/abnormal R progression (5.6% vs 2.2%, P < 0.001) and nonspecific T wave abnormalities (6.1% vs 3.4%, P = 0.008).
conclusionOur findings suggest that conduction abnormalities are not more prevalent in those with SSc than in controls. Evidence of right heart stress on EKG in SSc may be secondary to pulmonary hypertension and left atrial enlargement, and poor R wave progression in precordial leads may indicate myocardial damage. Future studies are required to determine if these EKG abnormalities represent underlying structural heart disease, and, until that is proven, EKGs should not be considered a screening tool for cardiac abnormalities in SSc.
Identifiers
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Registered trials
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