Strain Index Values in the Ultrasonographic Evaluation of Psoriasis

Abstract

Objective: Psoriasis is a widespread, chronic, recurrent, inflammatory disease of the skin which affects men and women equally. Elastography is a novel technique which uses the elasticity of the lesion. The aim of this study is to determine the elastographic findings of dermal psoriasis. This is the first study to evaluate SI in psoriasis patients and SI is helpful to evaluate psoriasis patients. We suggest that determining cut-off SI values for normal and dermal psoriasis can be helpful in the early diagnosis and follow-up of psoriasis patients. Materials and Methods: This prospective study included a total of 21 (10 females, 11 males) healthy volunteers and 32 (17 females, 15 males) psoriasis patients between 2015 and 2016. An Aplio 500 ultrasound device (Toshiba Medical Systems Corp., Otawara, Japan) and a 5-13 MHz linear transducer were used for ultrasonographic and ultrasound elastographic examinations. The measurements were made from the flexor sides of upper and lower extremities. At least three measurements were performed for each lesion and strain index (SI) values were recorded Results: The median SI values of healthy volunteers and psoriasis were 1.25 (0.16-8.00) (interquartile range (IR) 1.50) and 2.73 (0.43-13.32) (IR 3.39), respectively, indicating a significant difference between the groups (p: 0.001). Conclusion: Our study results showed that the SI values of the dermis in psoriasis patients were significantly higher than those of healthy volunteers. We suggest that determining cut-off SI values for normal and dermal psoriasis can be helpful in the early diagnosis and follow-up of psoriasis patients. Advances in Knowledge: Due to the literature search, this is the first study to evaluate SI in psoriasis patients and SI is helpful to evaluate psoriasis patients.