Localized scleroderma (LoS) is an inflammatory skin disease that presents with erythematous plaques before later burning out, leaving dyspigmented, fibrotic and atrophic plaques behind. Temperature measurement is a useful method to assess the degree of activity/inflammation in LoS lesions, however a severe degree of skin and subcutaneous fat atrophy may show false positive results. Optical techniques provide objective, noninvasive ways of measuring erythema intensity, yet have not been extensively studied in LoS.
The aim of this research was to compare the spectrophotometric results with thermographic examination of LoS lesions.
The lesions were assessed using the Localized Scleroderma Assessment Tool (LoSCAT), Dyspigmentation, Induration, Erythema, and Telangiectasias (DIET) score, narrow-band reflectance spectrophotometry (NBRS) and infrared thermography (IRT). The difference of the erythema index (ΔEI), melanin index (ΔMI) and average temperature Tavg (ΔTavg) were calculated between each lesion and its normal control.
Fifty-five patients with 49 active and 64 inactive lesions were examined. Median ΔEI did not vary significantly between the active and inactive LoS lesions. The ΔEI strongly correlated with the clinical erythema scores in the active LoS lesions (rs=0.62 p <0.0000002) and moderately correlated with the telangiectasias scores (rs=0.58 p <0.00001) in inactive lesions. A strong, statistically significant positive correlation was found between the clinical erythema scores and the ΔTavg (rs=0.7, p <0.000001). The ΔEI correlated weakly with the ΔTavg of LoS lesions (rs=0.229 p <0.014); a moderate correlation between the Δ EI and ΔTavg in active LoS lesions was found (rs=0.53 p <0.000094). ΔMI showed strong, positive correlation with the clinical dyspigmentation scores (rs=73, p <0.0000001).
The EI seems to be a good parameter in assessing the severity of erythema in LoS lesions. NBRS, just like IRT, may be a complementary method for detecting and quantifying LoS activity/inflammation.

ESDRLB013 - Usefulness of narrow-band reflectance spectrophotometry in the assessment of activity/infammation in localized scleroderma skin lesions

50th Annual Meeting of the European Society for Dermatological Research. VIRTUAL MEETING