After numerous trips to the physician's office, a client is diagnosed with diffuse scleroderma based on which of the following clinical manifestations? Select all that apply

Question

A) Protruding eyeball with very red, inflamed eyes and associated photophobia.
B) Difficulty swallowing resulting in weight loss due to malabsorption.
C) Spider veins on the face and chest.
D) Hands turn bluish purple when getting items out of the freezer.
E) Inability to walk long distances with severe leg cramping in calf muscles.

Answer 1

Ans: B, C, D
Feedback:
Some persons with scleroderma have limited involvement and may develop the CREST syndrome, characterized by a combination of calcinosis (i.e., calcium deposits in the subcutaneous tissue that erupt through the skin), Raynaud phenomenon (a vascular disorder characterized by reversible vasospasm of the arteries supplying the fingers), esophageal dysmotility, sclerodactyly (localized scleroderma of the fingers), and telangiectasia (dilated skin capillaries). Protruding eyeball is related to hyperthyroidism, and inability to walk distances without cramping is known as claudication caused by poor circulation.