Thromboembolic Disorders Associated With Psoriasis

Abstract

<h3>To the Editor.—</h3> We would like to call your readers' attention to a significant, recently observed, and previously unreported observation in a group of psoriatic patients. In a retrospective study, stimulated by a purported increased incidence of occlusive vascular disease in patients being treated for psoriasis with a specific antimetabolite, we have come to be impressed by the number of untreated psoriatic patients who have experienced one or more episodes of occlusive vascular disease (cerebrovascular accident, myocardial infarction, thrombophlebitis, and pulmonary embolization). We have reviewed the clinic and hospital records of 253 consecutive patients with psoriasis who have been examined and treated at the Roger Williams General Hospital during the period from July 1, 1968, to Dec 31, 1972. None of these patients had been or was being treated with the specific antimetabolite in question. Most were treated with topical agents, such as topical corticosteroids (with or without salicylic