Improved Gastrointestinal Involvement in Systemic Sclerosis after Immunoglobulin Treatment / 대한내과학회지

ABSTRACT

Systemic sclerosis is an intractable clinical subset characterized by diffuse fibrosis, vasculopathy, and immune abnormalities. Diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis has a variety of symptoms depending on the internal organs involved, such as the lungs, heart, kidneys, and gastrointestinal system. Gastrointestinal involvement is frequent and one of the major cause of morbidity and mortality. There is no sustained, effective therapy for treating the active gastrointestinal involvement of systemic sclerosis. Although immunoglobulin is commonly used in the treatment of other autoimmune diseases, its effects in the treatment of the gastrointestinal involvement in systemic sclerosis are unclear. Here, we report a patient with a severe cough caused by uncontrolled gastrointestinal involvement in diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis treated with immunoglobulin.