Nailfold videocapillaroscopy can increase diagnostic accuracy of ILD

When used in a multidisciplinary setting, nailfold videocapillaroscopy (NVC) can increase the diagnostic accuracy of interstitial lung diseases (ILD), especially in connective tissue disease-related ILD (CTD-ILD), followed by interstitial pneumonia with autoimmune features (IPAF) and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), according to a study.

Researchers analyzed 21 studies that report the occurrence of nailfold abnormalities (NVC+) in CTD-ILD, IPAF, and IPF cohorts. Prevalence of NVC+ was highest in CTD-ILD (80.4%), followed by IPAF (27.4%), and IPF (13.8%). Quality of evidence was low for these cohorts. In the CTD-ILD cohort, the most prevalent nailfold pattern was a Late Scleroderma pattern accounting for 40.4%. Quality of evidence was moderate in this cohort.

Reference
Umashankar E, Abdel-Shaheed C, Plit M, et al. Assessing the Role for Nailfold Videocapillaroscopy in Interstitial Lung Disease Classification: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2021;keab772. doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/keab772. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34668513.