Autoantibodies and microvascular damage are independent predictive factors for the progression of Raynaud's phenomenon to systemic sclerosis: A twenty‐year prospective study of 586 patients, with validation of proposed criteria for early systemic sclerosis

Objective To identify in patients with Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) independent markers that predict progression to definite systemic sclerosis (SSc) and to determine in patients with progression to SSc the type and sequence of microvascular damage and its relationship to SSc‐specific autoantibodies. Methods Consecutive patients referred for evaluation of RP who had no definite connective tissue disease were evaluated for microvascular damage by...