Nintedanib in systemic sclerosis treatment: a case report

Nintedanib was approved for the treatment of scleroderma and scleroderma-related interstitial lung disease, as it decrease the forced expiratory volume.

A 48-year-old Asian female patient with systemic scleroderma 6 years ago developed breathlessness, nausea, heart palpation, and sudden severe occipital headache over the preceding week. She was receiving aspirin 81 mg/day and amlodipine 5 mg/day. Her diagnosis was diffuse scleroderma with pulmonary hypertension, interstitial lung involvement, and renal crisis. The modified Rodnan score was 18. We begin captopril at a dose of 12.5 mg, progressively escalating to 200 mg/day, and oral nintedanib was started at 150 mg. A total of 12 months after initiation of treatment, the patient’s kidney function was normal. The pulmonary function tests improved. The modified Rodnan score was reduced to 10. We did not encounter any side effects in our case due to nintedanib treatment.

Treatment with nintedanib is crucial for slowing lung function decline. Diarrhea was the most common adverse event. Scleroderma renal crisis occurs in 10% of patients and typically presents with an abrupt onset of hypertension and kidney failure. The optimal antihypertensive agent for scleroderma renal crisis is an ACE inhibitor. The mainstay of therapy in scleroderma renal crisis has been shown to improve or stabilize renal function in approximately 70% of patients and improve survival in nearly 80% at 1 year. Nintedanib may be effective, and fairly safe to use. Further exploration is anticipated to advance a new period of systemic sclerosis treatment.