TY - JOUR IS - 4 AV - public N2 - OBJECTIVE: Although diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis (dcSSc) is associated with a reduction in life expectancy, there are no validated prognostic models for determining 5-year mortality in patients with dcSSc. The objective of this study was to derive and validate a rule for predicting 5-year mortality in patients with early dcSSc. METHODS: We studied an inception cohort of 388 US Caucasian patients with early dcSSc (<2 years from the appearance of the first symptom). Predefined baseline variables were analyzed in a stepwise logistic regression model in order to identify factors independently associated with 5-year all-cause mortality. We rounded the beta weights to the nearest integer and summed the points assigned to each variable in order to stratify patients into low-risk (<0 points), moderate-risk (1-2 points), and high-risk (?3 points) groups. We then applied this rule to an external validation cohort of 144 Caucasian patients with early dcSSc from the Royal Free Hospital cohort and compared stratum-specific 5-year mortality. RESULTS: Six independent predictors (rounded beta weight) comprised the model: age at first visit (points allotted: -1, 0, or 1), male sex (points allotted: 0 or 1), tendon friction rubs (points allotted: 0 or 1), gastrointestinal involvement (points allotted: 0 or 1), RNA polymerase III antibodies (points allotted: 0 or 1), and anemia (points allotted: 0 or 1). The 3-level risk stratification model performed well, with no significant differences between the US derivation cohort and the UK validation cohort. CONCLUSION: We derived and externally validated, in US and UK cohorts, an easy-to-use 6-variable prediction rule that assigns low-risk, moderate-risk, and high-risk categories for 5-year mortality in patients with early dcSSc. Only history, physical examination, and basic laboratory assessments are required. SN - 2326-5205 A1 - Domsic, RT A1 - Nihtyanova, SI A1 - Wisniewski, SR A1 - Fine, MJ A1 - Lucas, M A1 - Kwoh, CK A1 - Denton, CP A1 - Medsger, TA EP - 1003 SP - 993 VL - 68 JF - Arthritis & Rheumatology Y1 - 2016/04// UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/art.39490 ID - discovery1478961 N1 - This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Domsic, RT; Nihtyanova, SI; Wisniewski, SR; Fine, MJ; Lucas, M; Kwoh, CK; Denton, CP; (2016) Derivation and External Validation of a Prediction Rule for Five-Year Mortality in Patients With Early Diffuse Cutaneous Systemic Sclerosis. Arthritis & Rheumatology, 68 (4) pp. 993-1003, which has been published in final form at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/art.39490. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving TI - Derivation and External Validation of a Prediction Rule for Five-Year Mortality in Patients With Early Diffuse Cutaneous Systemic Sclerosis ER -