Early detection and diagnosis of psoriasis arthritis (PsA) in patients with psoriasis might help in facilitating early intervention. Recently, a group of Canadian researchers has developed a prediction tool for identifying psoriasis patients at higher risk of developing PsA with reasonable accuracy. The study findings have been presented at the Canadian Rheumatology Association (CRA) 2023 annual scientific meeting.
Elder and co-researchers analyzed the data of 635 psoriasis patients from the International Psoriasis and Arthritis Team (IPART). They used the data of patient characteristics, co-morbidities, demographics, musculoskeletal symptoms, medications, and some statistical tools for developing the prediction tool. One-year follow-up revealed younger age, male sex, history of psoriasis, nail pitting, back stiffness, use of biologics, global health, and pain severity as the risk factors for developing PsA. Besides, the risk factors at 5 years were identified as morning stiffness, psoriatic nail lesion, the severity of fatigue and psoriasis, use of phototherapy, and pain severity.
A 2022 study by Liu et al. developed a new prediction nomogram with better efficiency to detect the risk of PsA in plaque psoriasis patients. Patient characteristics and clinical manifestations during hospital visits were considered for developing the prediction tool. They have found nail involvement, age, and the onset of disease duration as factors linked to the risk of PsA. The researchers have claimed that since the predictive model is not time constrained, it can be used at any time to screen for the risk of PsA.
It is important to validate these tools in larger cohorts prior to their implementation in clinical practice. These tools may help physicians to develop personalized treatment strategies based on the risk factors to prevent further progression to PsA.
References
- Elder L, Lee KA, Chandran V, Widdifield J, Drucker A, Ritchlin C, et al. POD13 Prediction of Psoriatic Arthritis Tool (PRESTO): Development and Performance of a New Scoring System for Psoriatic Arthritis Risk. Canadian Rheumatology Association & Arthritis Health Professions Association Annual Scientific Meeting 2023. Podium Abstracts. https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/prediction-of-psoriatic-arthritis-tool-presto-development-and-performance-of-a-new-scoring-system-for-psoriatic-arthritis-risk/
- Liu P, Kuang Y, Ye L, Peng C, Chen W, Shen M, et al. Predicting the Risk of Psoriatic Arthritis in Plaque Psoriasis Patients: Development and Assessment of a New Predictive Nomogram. Frontiers in Immunology 2022;12. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2021.740968