AB1548 ULTRASOUND ASSESSMENT OF SUB-CLINICAL NAIL INVOLVEMENT IN PSORIATIC ARTHRITIS PATIENTS

Abstract

BackgroundSeveral studies suggest that psoriatic nail involvement is secondary to local enthesopathy with diffusion of the inflammation to the nail.ObjectivesWe aimed to compare parameters of clinically normal nail unit in patients affected by psoriatic arthritis (PsA) with healthy matched controls (HC) using ultrasonography.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study including patients with PsA and HC. Tender joint count (TJC) (0–68) and swollen joint count (SJC) (0–66) were collected and psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI), Disease Activity in Psoriatic Arthritis (DAPSA), were calculated in PsA patients.All patients underwent ultrasound (US) assessment of the fingernails including the study of morphological changes and measurement of the thickness of nail bed (NBT), nail plate (NPT), and adjacent skin (ST). Significant difference was noted if p<0.05.ResultsA total of 22 PsA patients (219 nails) and 21 matched HC (210 nails) were evaluated. PsA group and HC were comparable with respect to age (53.7±12.1 vs 53±11.8, p=0.72) and male gender (13 vs 13, p=0.85). Mean disease duration of PsA was 12.7±10.9 years. The disease activity showed that mean DAPSA was 21.56±14.36 and mean PASI was 2.19 ±3.8.PsA patients had more US morphological changes than HC group (16.89% vs 3.33%,p=0.03). The comparison of NPT between each identical fingernail of PsA and HC did not reveal significant difference. However, NBT was significantly higher in the HC group than the PsA group (1.77mm vs 2.07mm, p=0.027). Additionally, ST was higher in the HC group (2.26mm vs 2.59mm, p=0.003).ConclusionThe US morphological changes of NBT and ST were contributive to distinguish psoriatic nails from healthy nails.REFERENCES:NIL.Acknowledgements:NIL.Disclosure of InterestsNone Declared.