Scleroderma renal crisis following Covid-19 infection

Abstract

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune disease in which environmental exposure to substances and agents may trigger disease onset or exacerbation. The most fatal complication of SSc is scleroderma renal crisis (SRC), the incidence of which is 2-3%. SRC usually occurs in the first 5 years from disease onset in diffuse-SSc patients with anti-topoisomerase 1 (ATA) or RNA polymerase 3 antibodies [1]. Other risk factors for SRC are pericardial effusion, tendon friction rub and steroid use. We report herein a case of scleroderma renal crisis (SRC), following covid-19 infection, in a limited-SSc patient who was in long remission prior to the infection without any risk factors for SRC. the temporal relationship and lack of other risk factors combine to suggest covid-19 infection as a possible trigger for SRC. We discuss the shared pathophysiology of covid-19 infection and SRC, including, vasculopathy, endothelial activation, hypercoagulability, cytokines release as interleukin 6, that may explain the possible role of covid-19 infection, as a trigger for SRC in SSc patients.