Influence of tonzillektomy on the course of psoriasis

Abstract

Here, we performed the comprehensive review of the peer-reviewed literature of the effect of chronic foci of streptococcal infection on the course of skin psoriasis, as well as an assessment of the effectiveness of tonsillectomy on the course of this pathology. A PubMed, Web of Science and Google Scholar search were performed with the keywords 'psoriasis' AND 'tonsillectomy' OR 'tonsillitis' OR 'streptococcal infection'. The reviewers identified and evaluated 197 reports published prior to August 2018, of which 153 were excluded from further analysis after review of titles and/or abstracts including four duplicate studies from the same authors in the same patient groups. In total, 44 reports were used and included in the review (including original studies, a description of clinical cases, literature reviews). Analysis of the original studies showed that the effectiveness of tonsillectomy in patients with psoriasis is from 11.4 to 78.6%. Among clinical cases, the rate was 20-100%. We did not conduct a meta-analysis and use the statistical methods because of the heterogeneity of the data. Data were analysed using a descriptive approach. Most studies came from Russia, USA, Japan. However, multiple limitations in the studies do not allow final conclusions about the effectiveness of tonsillectomy in patients with psoriasis.