Key clinical point: Ultrasound assessment showed reduced thickness of nail bed and adjacent skin in clinically healthy nails of patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) than in control individuals without the disease.
Major finding: Ultrasound identified more morphological changes in the clinically healthy nails of patients with PsA vs control individuals (16.89% vs 3.33%; P = .03), along with significantly lower thickness of nail bed (1.77 mm vs 2.07 mm; P = .027) and adjacent skin (2.26 mm vs 2.59 mm; P = .003). Also, the adjacent skin thickness was positively correlated with tender joint count (correlation coefficient, 0.46; P = .03), suggesting that it can be used as a disease activity indicator.
Study details: This cross-sectional study involved the ultrasound assessment of clinically healthy nails in 22 patients with PsA (219 nails) who were compared with 21 control individuals without PsA (210 nails).
Disclosures: This study did not receive any funding. The authors declared no conflict of interests.
Source: Mahmoud I, Rouached L, Rahmouni S, et al. Ultrasound assessment of psoriatic arthritis patients with clinically normal nails and evaluation of its correlation with the disease activity: A case-control study . J Ultrasound Med. Published online April 18, 2024. Source