Dermatologists Can Spot Early Psoriatic Arthritis

Clinical dermatologists could help diagnose early psoriatic arthritis (EPsA) through the use of patient questioning and subsequent imaging studies in collaboration with rheumatologists and radiologists, data suggest. (JEADV 26(5):627-633. ) In a European study, dermatologists were able to diagnose 33 cases of EPsA over a 40-month period. From January 2007 to May 2010, all patients with psoriasis who visited the psoriasis centre were asked about inflammatory joint involvement. A diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis was made on the basis of clinical, laboratory and imaging studies. The diagnosis of early PsA (EPsA) was made if inflammatory articular symptoms had been present for one year or less. In a majority of patients (20; 60.6%) joint involvement was polyarticular (>5 joints involved) and oligoarticular (≤5 joints involved) in 13 patients.