[Treatment of therapy-resistant acral ulcers with iloprost]

[Treatment options of acral ulcers in MCTD]

In patients with systemic sclerosis or mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) acral ulcers are considered as frequent manifestations that may lead to amputation and loss of function, respectively, as a result of secondary Raynaud's phenomenon. Thus it is necessary to take advantage of all available medical and supportive measures. Adjuvant treatments such as hyperbaric oxygenation and regional sympathetic block represent interdisciplinary treatment options to improve oxygenation of critical ischemia and analgesia and should be subject of further investigation.

[Fast and efficient healing of scleroderma-associated acral ulcers with sildenafil]

Acral ulcers in patients with progressive systemic sclerosis (PSS) are often recalcitrant to therapy. Sildenafil, an inhibitor of phosphodiesterase-5, dilates small arteries by increasing endothelial cGMP. Oral administration of sildenafil to a 35-year-old white male patient suffering from incapacitating PSS with severe pulmonary arterial hypertension and acral ulcers induced a clinically significant reduction in dyspnea and increase in walking distance within one week as well as complete and long-lasting healing of all ulcers within five weeks. This case demonstrates the efficacy of sildenafil in the treatment of scleroderma-associated refractory acral ulcers.