What are some practical tips for eliciting an accurate history of Raynaud's phenomenon in patients being assessed for CTD?

I use this approach. I first ask patients if they feel generally sensitive to the cold. All patients with Raynaud's should respond yes to this, but this is not specific, as there are many cold-sensitive patients who don't have Raynaud's. I will then ask if their fingers turn any colors in response t...

The aforementioned assessments are utilized by me. One big advantage we now have is the smartphones in patients' pockets. There is a photo in the ACR image bank of running cold water on a patient's hands to elicit a color change, and the act, I think, is a bit barbaric. I have had a number of patien...

Always show pics of actual Raynaud's attacks. Everyone has hands that get cold and turn white or red, which isn’t Raynaud's (monophasic cold attacks). I would say the interpretation of monophasic is impossible from ROS, and if you really believe it, then fine, get the US cold stim test to support or...

The primary goal is to assess whether the patient’s Raynaud’s phenomenon (RP) may represent an early manifestation of a connective tissue disease (CTD). The first step is confirming that the patient truly has RP. I rely on three fundamental screening questions:

1. Do your hands or digits feel unusuall...

@Dr. First Last and @Dr. First Last: It sounds like you accept a monophasic color change (blue or pallor finger tips). If so, I'm glad to hear this. Though we like patients to describe a biphasic or triphasic (even better) color change, some patients note only one color change (pallor or blue). I co...