Should patients with systemic sclerosis‐related pulmonary arterial hypertension be anticoagulated?. Issue 5 (14th May 2013) - Nikpour, M.
Abstract Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a major cause of mortality in scleroderma and despite 'advanced' therapies confers a median survival of less than 5 years. Anticoagulation in systemic sclerosis‐related PAH (SSc‐PAH) is currently one of the most contentious issues in the management of patients with connective tissue disease. While some studies have shown a survival benefit with warfarin therapy in this disease, others have not. Accordingly, a state of clinical equipoise exists in relation to anticoagulation in SSc‐PAH. With an over fivefold reduction in mortality demonstrated in some observational studies, the issue of anticoagulation in SSc‐PAH demands resolution through a well‐designed randomised controlled trial.