Changes in Lung Ultrasound in Systemic Sclerosis Before and After Rehabilitation: A Comparative Study Between People with and Without Interstitial Lung Disease

There is limited research on the impact of a physiotherapy-guided rehabilitation program (PGRP) on lung structure in systemic sclerosis (SSc). Lung ultrasound (LUS) has been used for over a decade to identify interstitial lung disease associated with SSc (SSc-ILD). This study aims to evaluate the impact of PGRP on LUS signals in women with SSc-ILD and women without ILD (SSc-wILD). This is a longitudinal quasi-experimental study that included 33 women with SSc. The results show that changes in LUS were observed in 22 participants, especially B-lines >2. Before PGRP the median of B-lines >2 was 3 (0–7), while after PGRP it was 3 (0–6) (p=0.020). The aeration score was 8 (0–16.5) pre-PGRP and 3 (0–16) post-PGRP (p=0.013). Analyzing the impact of PGRP on LUS signals in the SSc-ILD and SSc-wILD groups, the main change observed was the reduction of B-lines >2 between the pre-PGRP and post-PGRP in the SSc-ILD group (p=0.00041). SSc-ILD had a higher aeration score than SSc-wILD, both pre-PGRP (p<0.0001) and post-PGRP (p=0.0001)]. In conclusion, LUS is an effective tool for detecting pre- and post-PGRP changes in people with SSc-ILD and SSc-wILD. Additionally, the results demonstrated that PGRP may improve pulmonary structure as seen by LUS in SSc, particularly SSc-ILD. These findings support the inclusion of LUS in the monitoring of SSc and the use of PGRP as a non-pharmacological approach in SSc.